Home >> Emerging Mud Puds >> Cabe Lindsay

Cabe Lindsay

My name is Cabe, and I am happy, even if happiness comes to me in kind of a sad way. On occasional sunny days, I might start to think I’ve found everything I ever wanted in life, and then I realize that I have nothing. I might realize, watching the sunset over an ocean-side cliff, that I am nothing. On the flipside, perhaps during cold and cloudy days, I might feel an overwhelming loneliness, as if I was without a single friend in life. But then a stranger might smile at me, and I might smile back, and maybe I realize that I have everything that matters.

“I am vibrant and colorful man, showered with blessings, living richly, handsomely, courageously, creatively, intelligently devoting a healthy amount of free time into serious fun, relaxation, and fitness for the body, soul, and mind.” ~ Cabe Lindsay

Here I am in my late 20s, often depressed with the thought of being stuck in a chrysalis between caterpillarhood and butterflydom, recognizing that not all caterpillars survive the cocoon stage. But not all butterflies make it even to the larvae stage, for that matter, and far fewer make it to the butterfly stage. I try to be unattached to the goal of flying, in a figurative way, but I still daydream about it. I try to let go of the desires I’ve had in the past, trying to find contentment without a wife, no pets, no known children. I feel empty at times, and fulfilled at others, but I have to keep living in whatever stage I’m in. At this stage, I can say that I am happy, even if I still get sad sometimes.

It probably seems sad to some: my life. I sense that there are some people in my life who care about me, and I imagine they think of my situation as somewhat bleak, and pitiful. But if that’s true, then they are only aware of the external version of me – the one that is revealed on the surface for anyone to see. On the outside, they see fatigue in my face from the three years I suffered from chronic headaches. They see heaviness on my shoulders. They see red veins in my eyes from straining at the computer screen, working obsessive, long hours.

But if they look just a little closer, if they have the curiosity and the compassion enough to see who I really am, they would find that I am vibrant and colorful man, showered with blessings, living richly, handsomely, courageously, creatively, intelligently devoting a healthy amount of free time into serious fun, relaxation, and fitness for the body, soul, and mind. People are drawn to my inner joy, and I happily, freely, deeply connect.

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Home >> Emerging Mud Puds >> Robert Charginghawk

Robert Charginghawk

I grew up on the Wind River Reservation as a member of the Shoshone tribe. It was, and still is, a dangerous environment to live in. I kind of came from a dark place. I’m luckier than some, though. It’s like a beacon of light is always shining for me, guiding me to safety. I guess the source of that light is God, or the gods, or whatever you call that…presence. I carry this belief: Energy goes where it’s supposed to go. Energy knows where it’s supposed to be. My energy wants to follow that light.

Truth is, compared with a great deal of people in my extended family, my life has been filled with blessings. I served in two wars and committed no murder. I once managed to forgive a woman who stabbed me in the back with a broken liquor bottle. Two rattlesnake bites couldn’t take me down. Unlike two of my brothers that died in their childhood and another younger brother who passed as an adult, I am a survivor of a great many years. Nope, Here I am, well over 80, and death hasn’t grabbed a hold of me yet. Hell, I’m probably the only Indian my age able to use a computer. Even my own kids don’t know how to check their emails. Most of us still living on the Rez prefer the old-fashioned way, I guess. Suppose that makes me young-fashioned.

Nowadays, I enjoy writing and woodworking as hobbies, and I never pass up a chance to pound the drum at a circle gathering.

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Home >> Emerging Mud Puds >> Ashleigh Ann Barrett

Ashleigh Ann Barrett

My name is Ashleigh Ann Barrett and I am best known for my daredevil stunts, such as falling down a flight of stairs at a concert with 2 cups of red wine in my hands, nearly all of which landed on my white skirt. People remember me for the time at NASCAR when I tried to jump over a mud puddle and got a high heel stuck during my approach. Yeah, that stunt ended with mud caked on my face. “Why was I trying to hop a mud puddle?” you might ask. Well, I was trying to find the fastest route to my car, to smoke some pot. “What were you doing at NASCAR in the first place?” you are probably wondering. Yeah, even I can’t explain that. I think I was into baby-making with rednecks at the time. Not really, though.

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Home >> Emerging Mud Puds >> Melissa Ford

Melissa Ford

My name is Melissa Ford, and I happy to be a single mother of three lovely children. My youngest daughter recently entered college – this is an revelation of my age and also an indication of the personal freedom I have realized now that I have the house to myself. Now that the kids are all grown up, I am able to commit more time into composing music – this is my passion in life.

Currently, I make a living as a piano teacher in the Suzuki Method. Actually, though, the bulk of my earnings comes to me in the form of royalty checks. See, I played a small role in creating the title song of a syndicated television program from the ‘90s, called Blossom. Nearly every day, I receive at least one check in the mail, and at one time it was as many as 214 (I counted), for the amount of $1.36 plus or minus a few cents. I find this quite amusing.

“Talent comes naturally to some and supernaturally to others.” ~ Melissa Ford

I have found success in life through pursuing my passion, which is art, and my advice to other artists is just to keep on creating. In my experience, I gained nothing by creating nothing, but I gained something from every piece I created. Whether it was a valuable learning experience from a rejected song that I had written or flattering recognition from one of my top students, I have continued to practice my art and that has helped me to achieve what I would consider success. Talent comes naturally to some, and supernaturally to others, but for me, I had to work extremely hard as a pianist to be able to profit from my talent professionally.

Not wanting to bore anyone with the minutiae of my past, I will summarize by saying that I grew up living in oblivion (sorry for the cliché) until I learned to become aware of myself and started to recognize myself as an artist. I was 20 years old when I first started playing the piano as a result of inheriting my grandmother’s Yamaha upright piano. The fact that I was in my twenties before I found my passion in life is something that I think a lot of other people could benefit from knowing, especially artists. I think some artists are afraid to fully embrace the creative side of themselves until they experience some kind of tremendous success story.

In my opinion, the likelihood of a person achieving success in one’s passion is precisely congruent to the devotion one invests into her or his passion. Yes, there are certainly external factors that throw us all for loops (my kids and I survived on Ramen noodles and Saltine crackers for way too long). To me, success is measured in terms of happiness, and happiness comes to people who do what they love. As long as a person is pursuing her or his passion in life, then success is inevitable – she or he is doing what makes her or him happy.

I remember a mantra of some kind that says, “Where your heart is, there your treasure lies.” I think it’s from the Bible. This mantra seems appropriate and right, and I think it is good advice for me and anyone else with a passion.

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