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In the second episode of Deep in the Woods, Ryan Cherry and I take a hike at Olde Rope Mill Park in Cherokee County, Georgia which follows the edge of Little River which then flows into Lake Allatoona. This is the site of multiple mills including one that manufactured the rope for tents during World War 2. Ryan Cherry is a Special Education Teacher and talented musician with multiple projects. Ryan has chosen the word, "Harmony" to guide our discussion which leads to other topics including his struggles with anxiety, the increased demand for dystopian and adventure themes in the media, and the impact of ego and pride when making decisions about careers and artistic expression. I hope you enjoy our conversation as we explore the word, "Harmony" as we hike the edge of Little River at Olde Rope Mill Park.

Quotes and Key Passages:

• Avett Brothers: "I wanna have pride like my mother has, And not like the kind in the bible that turns you bad."
• Jim Carrey: "The difference between depression and sadness is that sadness is just from happenstance. Whatever happened or didn’t happen for you, or grief or whatever it is. Depression is your body saying...I don’t want to be this character anymore. I don’t want to hold up this avatar that you created. And the world is too much for me,’
• Rick Rubin: “The power of nature is what all art strives to be. The more we can get in tune with the harmony of the planet, the more our art can benefit from that relationship”
• Harmony in Music: "Certain types of music resolves. Do you feel like certain music that you lean more to has a resolution? Yeah, if you think about blues...it has a typical chord progression throughout its music. The key might change, but chords and structure is very similar, and the reason why is because it resolves. It comes back to the start and is repetitive in a pleasing way. Yes, it finds closure!"
• Anxiety, OCD, and Need for Harmony: "We wear these masks often and want to show people what they want to see...around our family, friends, and especially around people who evaluate or judge you. It's like, 'Look, I'm doing great things,' because you want them to see you are doing a great job. There's a big trail here that leads back to family...I think anxiety drives from losing something that you are holding on to. Because as a family, you want to make sure your financially stable, you want to make sure your children are safe, and you want to make sure your relationship with your spouse is intact; and all of that, you have this balancing act where you think 'If I drop something, if I mess up, that can lose these things that I am holding onto.'" What if I lose my job because I mess up at work? How is that going to impact my family? What if I say the wrong thing? Again, 'what if's' are the key word for anxiety.
• Pride, Ego, and Imposter Syndrome: "Is it possible to let go of that ego? Yes, my wife and I talked about this and she would ask, 'Why are you really doing that? Are you doing it just to get affirmation that you are doing things right? And we can talk about the Imposter Syndrom thing? What is Imposter Syndrome? You feel like everyone around you is going to figure out that you don't really know what you are doing...the fear that everyone will find out that you are only faking it until you make it."