The Eye of the Hurricane

To Write Love On Her Arms

I had some free time this morning before work so I was doing the norm and ended up on youtube (big surprise) watching a live clip of Dustin Kensrue. He had this shirt on that said “To Write Love On Her Arms” and it got me curious what the meaning of it was so I pulled out Google and stated to dig around. Turns out that it is a non-profit dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide… primarily the younger generations.

The folks that run it, make music a huge part of their lives and becuase of that, it picked up a lot of steam in the music community. Last summer many artists on the Warped Tour wore t-shirts and supported the cause and even had a booth at every one of the stops. They are even doing a cool thing with various musicians called “Stop The Bleeding” where they bring elements of art and speaking are added to the live (music) show. In their words…

We always try to partner with people and places meeting needs locally. We open it up for Q&A with the audience. STB is an attempt to create a setting that is honest, inspiring, informative, and hopeful.

I’ve got to tell you that I got real emotional when I read the full story of how they got started and some of the stories of hurt and pain caused by drugs, rejection and life in the youth. It’s been a few years but when I was younger I was heavy into “the scene” and without going into too many details I’ve seen the the life that society wants to cover up and act like doesn’t exist. I’ve seen 14 year old snort more cocaine than I could. I’ve seen kids being pulled out on stretchers from club’s from taking to much GHB. I’ve felt the lows of depression and by the grace of God I never thought about suicide and was able to be pulled out of that crap and given a new life.

So when I hear these story’s, it hits close to home despite the years that have dumbed down my memory. I’d love to see the people in our local music scene begin to take up a cause… any cause… and give back to the community. It starts by opening your eyes and looking around… helping organizations like To Write Love On Her Arms or Grounded in Music. These folks over at TWLOHA are making great progress and using the power of music to help send the message and influence people. What a great thing! I picked up a shirt from their store just to start to help support what they are doing and they also have a place to give a tax-deductible donation.

The thing that I’m saying is that at some point we have to stop talking and start doing. Whether that means helping fund those that are more equipped than you or getting out and volunteering yourself. We’re all apart of the music movement no matter what side of the stage you stand on. There is a ton of opportunity if we just look! To read all of the incredible story of how TWLOHA started and how they came up with that name go check out the website. The story about the name is very cool… and the lives impacted will give you tons of Hope for our world.

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