patmonahan:

There’s a moment when you paddle out to sea, just before the wave in front of you breaks, it seems like both you and the ocean hold your breathe and you leap into one another. I feel like I am in that state of mind a lot these days. I’m waiting to leap in and hope for the best. When you rise up to…

Beautiful and poetic prose, Pat.  Love your imagery.  You sound as though you’re about to take a big leap.  We’re there with you to support you when you do. Enjoy the exhilaration! Waiting for your call.

patmonahan:

I stopped drinking about 16 years ago. That’s about the time music actually started to become a possible future for me. Every since then though, I have not had an epic New Years Eve.
I’m thinking that it’s just a strange time for me in general but this year was just as weird as the past 15. Not…

Thanks for sharing bits of your life with us.  Sorry about your stress with the new year.  I think you’re to be commended for giving up alcohol for so many years.  My husband has also committed to this for the past few years and it was difficult to ring in the New Year without the bubbly or a few drinks. He wishes he could just have “one” but it’s too tempting to continue.  I think he’s amazing for resisting all this time and you are amazing too.  This time of year is very stressful. We look back on our lives and ask a lot of questions. We also have great expectations.  It must be even more difficult for you as a performer with schedules that are crazy and a life that is compartmentalized into public and private parts.

I hope this year brings you joy in all you do, both public and private.  Thanks for bringing me joy in listening to your music and seeing you perform. Thanks for sharing your life with us.

patmonahan:

I’ve been very family lately so I have kind of been away but please except my deepest thank you for the wonderful life you’ve given me and my family. Train fans and friends are kind and thoughtful and so what I’m trying to be more of.
I hope that we get many more years of sharing life moments…

patmonahan:

Autumn is probably my favorite time of year. The colors mean everything to me. I’ve always felt like autumn inside. Leaves, which are green and unnoticed for much of their life spans, become vibrant and filled with personality and reason to pay attention.
Its a reminder that you can’t ever expect…

Autumn is a beautiful time of year. Maybe that’s the reason you named your daughter Autumn. Your vibrant personality certainly gives us all a reason to pay attention. I guess it’s a time of year when things start to slow down a bit and we can all reflect on our lives and our values, the changing cycles of life.

Thanksgiving is for family but we can’t all be together as families expand and move. I am sorry I won’t be with my daughter and granddaughter (they’ll be at the other in-laws) but it will still be a peaceful holiday, one that encourages us to reflect on things to be thankful for.  It’s wonderful that you have a new healthy son. Congratulations and may you have many happy years together.

As for reading, I must have too much free time because I spend a lot of it reading. It comforts me and takes me away to a different world. My wish for you is that you will have time to enjoy the solitary pleasure of reading.

I am looking forward to your new music.  Enjoy this time with family.

patmonahan:

I would like to point out 20 reasons Train fans are the best!
1.T-fans are actually kind people
2.You have a great sense of yourselves
3.You are open to things
4.You have a great sense of humor
5.You care about your fellow friends and other fans of Train and other music
6.You’re really…

Guess I don’t fit into all of these categories, but I do love Train.  Wish you all the best on your journey.  Looking forward to the new songs. Thanks for making your fans feel good. You treat us well. Enjoy the rest and relaxation at the end of your tour. You deserve it.

patmonahan:

Convince someone to want to be here on earth?
Make someone feel essential?
Love someone enough to change how they feel about themselves?
Delay or prevent family/friends heartache?
Talk someone into life?
Talk someone out of giving up?

Do you feel like once someone makes a decision to be…

I woke up this morning and my brain started going full steam. So when I couldn’t get back to sleep, one of the things I thought about was your blog posts.  It amazes me that you are so open with your thoughts and feelings.  You seem to let it all hang out there in the universe of your fans.  I guess you’re used to fame and having little privacy but it must have taken a while to get used to that.  I don’t even like to publish a profile or personal information because I fear repercussions.  I know that this post is about suicide and dealing with heartbreaking issues, and I realize that I may be changing the subject, so I apologize for that.  We have all been touched by death and suicide to some degree and it is a difficult subject to broach.  Right now, I can’t imagine it for myself, but there certainly have been times when I wished I could put an end to bad feelings by putting an end to all feelings and all of my life.  Luckily I didn’t follow through and things evened out, moods changed, life went on. 

Your music has touched me and touched the thousands of fans around the world.  That must make you feel good.  But how does it feel to be “loved” and “followed” by people you never met and never will meet?  Fame must be a unique experience, a brain-changing experience.  How do you deal with it?  There are so many people out there who write to you every day, via Twitter, Facebook,Tumblr, - people who are trying to make a connection with you, a person they have never met but with whom they feel a strong bond. That must be amazing and scary at the same time.  I would love to see a post about this subject.

In the meantime, keep doing what you are doing.  You make people happy and bring joy to their lives through your music. 

patmonahan:

So sorry for the delay.
About 5 or 6 weeks ago I was updating Twitter on my Blackberry and everything went black. I tried another phone and finally changed carrier and went back to RIM.
Aaaanyway…here I am and I am so glad to be back unharmed by the technical voodoo that was getting the best…

So glad you won another Grammy!  I was visiting in California so I didn’t see it live but tuned in just to see your “moment.”  Your songs always put a smile on my face.  Glad you had a great birthday in Hawaii with family.  Looking forward to seeing you in August at Tanglewood.

patmonahan:

You’ve done some amazing things for me in the past. You gave me so many opportunities in my life. For instance, you got me to stand on tables in SF to get people to look up from their beers and coffees while I was singing. Thank you! You got me to dance on stage when I was really afraid to and…

Pat,

I am new to blogging but I wanted to add something to what you wrote. I have only been following your group for a year and I am probably too old to say this, but I am a big fan and although I don’t know you personally, I feel a connection with you.  You make yourself so vulnerable and open up so personally to your fans.  I would have a great problem doing that but admire you for it. 

I think you are being too hard on yourself when you separate your “ego” from yourself.  Perhaps you are referring to the part of yourself that is self-important or conceited, but I think of the “ego” more as your personality or who you really are.  If what you really want to do is change your focus and the way you look at people and life, that is good.  But the parts of you that had the drive to succeed and to create are wonderful.  It is great to want to be more humble, appreciative and forgiving, but you seem to think that all the bad things about you are from your ego.  In psychological terms, you really can’t separate out your ego into good and bad.  It sounds as though you are struggling to find a better self and I guess that is what we all should do. 

Your music makes me feel good and sometimes, I wake up with one of your tunes in my head. You are such a special performer and you connect so well with your audiences.  I loved you at Roseland Ballroom this year because it was such an intimate setting.  I can only hope that I will be able to see you perform again in a similar setting.  Thanks for all the attention you pay to us, your fans.

Susan