Stir-up Sunday

Or, is there a universal principle governing the link between naming and knowing?

Nov 18, 2024

Welcome to Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before the season of Advent. If your Anglican doesn't run deep, Stir-up Sunday takes its name from the Book of Common Prayer, where the collect (prayer) for the day begins with the words "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people."

Bob Marley is famous for his "Stir it up, little darling." Different sort of stir—nevertheless, one capable of bringing forth good fruit.

Lest you think this Anglican stuff rolls off my tongue or typing, no. I just listened to a wise and sublime message from our Rector at the Church of the Redeemer, The Rev. Andrew DeFusco. The personal irony is where I listened from. Not in a pew, but in my seat of comfort at home watching the service on Facebook. The dopamine behemoth I'm planning to abandon after the first of the year. Proving once again it has its usefulness.

I stirred at 11:15AM. Knowing I'd been more ill than usual, Andi let me sleep and flew solo. I expect to hear the garage door announce her return any minute—there it is. I'd like to drop this letter and clean my closet before I run out of energy. Energy is at a minimum. I have the stare. The loss of voice. Life force creeping into the shadows. I've been here many times over the last eight years. This is different, though.

There's something layered on top of the something(s) I already know I'm sick with—central sensitization. This new thing doesn't have a name yet. I've had the antinuclear antibody (ANA) test confirming its existence. Now, I have to wait until mid-December to see a specialist who will name it. It makes me wonder. There must be a universal principle governing the link between naming and knowing. Naming initiates context. Knowing the context, even partly, helps one prepare for all that pours forth from the name, the definition, and the possible. Until then, it's a trigger for me leading to an old song and dance: hypervigilance. An imagination-fueled vigil of watchfulness. Feel that? What is it? Why is it?

I confess that I'm oversharing to stay present in my body—of not resorting to old scripts of pushing the pain down. Anyone with trauma/PTSD and high resilience scores know the exhaustive effort it takes to appear well. What it will cost, sooner or later. The bestseller, The Body Keeps the Score, is still true.

In the time it's taken to write this, I already know I won't get to cleaning my closet. I'm hoping to make it to the Kansas City Chiefs, though. The Chiefs and the Golden State Warriors are my two main teams. I hope you saw Klay Thompson's return to the Bay the other night. Though he was in the wrong uniform, he was indeed on a 3-point streak. His new team, the Dallas Mavericks, could not close, though. As Klay said in the presser: "It hurts to be on the other side of a Steph Curry flurry." Indeed.

Updates and Thoughts

1. I have taken the news apps off my devices. I had no idea how deep my habit of checking in was. As with all habits, there's a little angsty longing. But it is passing one day at a time. In its place, I've been researching a different variety of news hidden in plain sight. I'll share a few here and you share some with me in the comments. I am interested in people doing positive, life-giving work and play for what I'd call the "cosmic betterment" of all. Not perfect, but as my friend Steve Garber says, "proximate."

https://bittersweetmonthly.com/stories/buildher

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

http://www.goodnewsagency.org/m/issue.php?number=327&lang=en

2. My amazing granddaughter Bridget has made more progress updating my website, CharliePeacock.com. After I leave Meta's social media, I will post here on Substack, and the website will be the hub for all my work and play past, present, and future. For example, the fine art prints, original art, and apparel and gifts have all made a return—in time for some Christmas presents?

In the future, if you purchase an Audible version of the memoir Roots & Rhythm, you can see/download the photos and discography on the website. Bookmark https://charliepeacock.substack.com/ and https://charliepeacock.com, and you'll be good to go. Note about the Audible book: I have finished recording it and suspect it will appear as a purchase option everywhere within 30 days of the release date, February 4, 2025.

“(Roots & Rhythm) is the story of a music producer and his family that lives the music life like breathing. You can bet this book will be in my library.”
—Leslie Odom, Jr., Tony and Grammy Award winner and two-time Academy Award nominee

Thank you Leslie! We look forward to your Christmas concert at the Schemerhorn Symphony Center on December 11th.

3. I could leave the house for a bit this past Thursday morning. The Wedgwood Circle conference was in Nashville, and many friends were present, including several of the original co-founders. We shared a meal and a few stories about how it all came together, the providence, pride, and praise. And the profound interconnectedness of our stories (with Bono always being the actor in the wings). Avail yourself as interest and need inspire you. Discover creative community here: https://www.wedgwoodcircle.com

L-R: Leanne & Mark Rodgers, Steven Garber, David Kiersznowski, NASCAR legend Carl Edwards, Mako & Haejin Fujimura, Andi Ashworth & Charlie Peacock

4. I've barely scratched the surface of studying this next subject. Still, it may interest you. I touch on the sociological drivers for how I once put identity together in Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters So Much and in the forthcoming memoir Roots & Rhythm: A Life in Music. In short, putting the Christ influence to the side for a moment, it was one of autonomous freedom, individualism, excitement, paternalism, achievement, self-improvement and cultural and familial performance. Hoping to continue to mature and grow, I'm asking, with Christ-affection, to be stirred up in a new direction—a horizontal one—focusing on relationships and interdependent happiness and well-being. This means a renewed commitment to neighbor love, humility, social harmony, equity, and justice. And, in a very personal sense, a big lean into stable, low-arousal, ordinary (my word) projects and people—something as simple as "catching up." What my dad called "shooting the breeze"—or talking into the wind.

5. Finally, welcome to the hundreds of new Substack readers. I appreciate you joining us. If you're new to my music, I've created an introductory playlist for you. Enjoy at Spotify.