Trauma Storm - Uplifting Minor Blues to heal family and community
Trauma Storm – a song I wrote back in 2017 as Hurricane Harvey hit New York.
This minor blues was written in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey finally made it's way up to New York City.
As I sat in a LES bar on a first date watching the rain, I was sick with guilt. This very storm had ravaged my hometown and was now nothing more than a moody summer evening in NYC.
Back in Houston, most of my friends and family were dealing with devastation of the flooding. Some had total destruction of their homes.
It was so strange to see Harvey falling so softly on NYC, as tame as a kitten by then.
No one in NYC cared, and I was feeling so isolated. Homesick and feeling helpless to help my loved one, I just watched the rain for hours making small talk.
It's a strange situation to be in, to be safe and sound far away from your friends and family as they struggle in the thick of a traumtic situation.
I remembered feeling that way in 2008 when I was in Europe, and the economy crashed so hard here. I lost a friend during that time. That terrible distance is one of the reasons I decided I'd rather be here in my own country, close to friends and family. Than safe far away.
But here I was again, in that same situation.
I was triggered to anger and a whole variety of emotions because I knew of weather manipulation back then, though no one wanted to talk about that. When someone's hometown is the blundt of such a blow, it hits below the belt. And this was all after Maria had hit Puerto Rico so hard that summer and affected more of loved ones.
It brought up lots of unhealed traumas such as not feeling safe, looking for someone to blame, feeling frustrated at habitual mistakes that lead to disasters.
I wrote this song to express all of that.
You see, cleaning up after that Storm, one has to clean out closets. They have to riffle through junk that has long been forgotten.
That was the perfect metaphor for facing, healing and letting go of the trauma's hidden in our family closets; our subconsious. This song is dedicated to that important healing process. Sometimes we have have to get triggered to really get deep in our spiritual and emotional closets. Only by facing this junk can it be thrown out.
I use a minor blues progression to express the heaviness of such deep, spiritual work. Also in tribute to the musical traditions of Houston.
7 years later, I'm seeing the results of this spiritual labor. I'm here in Houston, enjoying healthier relationships with my family and friends.
I'm still in the process of forgiving and redeeming, (myself most of all) but I'm seeing the fruits of so much deep inner spiritual clearing. I've witnessed miracles that helped us to finally let go of deep traumas we experienced growing up. We were carrying this junk around not even realizing it. I'm seeing more clearly the ways I'm stuck in trauma responses that are no longer appropriate. My relationships are being freed from them too.
And I'm thankful to Harvey for waking me up to how much I love this city – Houston, Texas.
I'm thankful to Harvey for making me realize we can't just move away and expect our past to disappear. We're eternally connected to the place we were born, where we grew up, where are ancestors lived.
We have to face our traumas head on, and heal it in the light of our grown up consciousness. Running away only prolongs the misery.
On another level, I sang my hopes that we'd rebuild a smarter, safer H-Town in the aftermath. And on this point, I'm highly disappointed. In regards to flooding and storms, they will surely come again to my swampy hometown. But 7 years later, the over development seems worse than ever. It is just not smart development that we are seeing here. In a below-sea-level city, prone to hurricans, why would we cover everything with concrete? And with a place so hot, why is the standard practice to bulldooze down every tree on the lot? Even the trees that are 400 years old? Where is the harmony and respect for the environoment here? Why is develpoment never part of the Climate discussions?
I was in San Antonio this past weekend, and was amazed at how the old architecture, the River Walk, even the Missions; all existing in harmony with the nature of the city. Old Live Oaks and Cypress trees were left in place, and the structures built AROUND them. They use white limestone instead of concrete. The result is a city that has such a better feel. Our ancestors knew how to build in harmony with the land? Why can't we?
I know we have the capacity to be smarter and wiser in our development. But it seems we've abondoned those practices in favor of more profitable practices.
But profitable for who? And at what cost?
Surely another storm will hit here, and those devasted by it will be the working class families. I dedicate this prayer song to them today. They are just never given a break in this current economy. I pray that they face their traumas head on, grow wiser and stronger as a family unit.
Join me in envisioning a world that supports and uplifts the honest, hard working people - as well as the nature that nurtures and supports us; in all our hometowns.
In the meantime, I'll just be praying and singing the blues.
“The roots of our family tree, got flooded in toxicity”
By the way – this song was produced by Colin Hua. I recorded the vocals and e-piano summer 2020. He worked on it til 2022 when I did a limted release (Bandcamp only) and released a music video.
I'm thankful to my who brother provided some images he had kept from his Hurrican Harvey experience. I also used some spare footage from a shoot I did in upstate New York, back around the same time. Erel Pilo @Pilot_lets_go shot them for another music video of mine – Reeds.
It made symbolic sense to superimpose myself from New York over images of Houston, as that's where I was when Harvey hit 7 years ago.
Since 2022, I've stalled out on releasing Music. This is probably the material of different blog, addressing why it's been so hard to release the last album in my trilogy series – I Dared. Ironicaly it's all about being brave and daring to follow your dreams, whilst I've been actually blocked from releasing it. Many reasons why, that I'll address as I'm leading up to it's release on 6/22/25.
But I'll say that the timing always ends up being perfect somehow anyways. The past few years even since that limited release, there have been so many miracles of healing in my family! This song is power packed now with the conviction that we all need to face our traumas. Micro to macro, we can change the world by uniting and facing together our Trauma Storms.
Lyndol Descant
Orignally written in March 22, updated in March 2025