This short version of Weight was written and recorded on October 14th, 2012 in my hotel room while attending the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP) National Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The theme for this years Conference was "Stepping out from the Darkness”. As a thank you to CASP, I’m helping to shed some light on their message and their organization and I’m donating 50% of the proceeds to them (tracked by PayPal). You’ll also be helping me fund recording of my first full length CD that I hope will further support this cause.

Weight was entered into the CBC Lynn Miles Song Contest that same day and it has made the top five finalists and with your help it may win and bring even more valuable exposure to this cause.

About the Song?

We all carry weight, and there are times when we feel crushed by the burden of it and darkness can become frightening and unbearable. If you’re feeling the weight of suffering, my message is to ask you to wait, and to consider the crushing burden that your survivors will carry forever if you don't. You are needed. You are loved. You matter. We are all part of the puzzle in a difficult world.

I am a survivor, and even after almost 5 years, I’m suffering intensely from my loss. Survivors will always carry the scars of their losses and these scars can be unbearable and often hidden. The world has broken apart. Dreams and families shattered. We too need to Step out of the Darkness.

My objective with this song and hopefully others to come is to try and help those that have lost hope to reach out. Please step out from the darkness and find someone, anyone, who will listen to your story. If you don’t have someone close, then reach out to the compassionate networks of caring people in your community. They want to help. You can find these services in your community.

Please listen to this song as a start. If you need help, for yourself or a friend or loved one, call, or text, or find an online Crisis Chat service. Just wait...

Finally, thanks to Lynn Miles for her 25 years of songwriting and for the inspiration with the opening lyric/line of Weight. It spoke very clearly to me and enabled me to create a path to this song. For context, I met Lynn for the first time only a few weeks after my loss, and a few times since, and this connection and the timing has become part of the energy for me.

Thanks.

Peace! Love! Compassion! And God Bless GarageBand.