It was just after the millennium had rolled through and we were all still here. The world hadn't ended, despite the warnings of computer systems malfunctioning worldwide. It would be another 12 years before such paranoia would strike again and for the moment life had returned to normal.

I had been living in Wales for a few years playing with my band Little Gaia. We had trodden the coast road for many months playing bars, surf clubs, and festivals.

"...and I find myself knowing the things that I knew. Which is is all that you can do on this side of the blue.." Joanna Newsom

I have often found myself saying that you rarely learn things just once.  It is not entirely true of course as some things are so profound that they stay with you from the moment you experience them.  It is just such an experience, along with the return of life's usual routines, that drew me to write this blog post. At the very least it serves as a reminder for me to recall the lessons I had learned through this period of my life; lessons and truths that helped me recover from a painful operation and something I'm determined never to forget.