I write. I pour my heart and soul into the words of my songs. I put forth every effort possible to create an instrumental that compliments the mood and story of my lyrics and melodies.
I sing. Every note, every word is a message from inside of me. Whether it is a song that I wrote or written by my bandmate or a song from the "Top 40" charts, I immerse myself wholly into the words, melody, and music.
The results of this are not always clearly evident, and I often feel the weight of nothingness pulling me down. But when someone expresses to the rest of the world that MY music touched them, spoke to them, it feels, if just for a moment, like it is truly worth all the effort and pain.
So, please don't look at musicians, writers, singers, as lazy. The work we put into our craft (rehearsal, writing, recording sessions, and the pure emotion poured into our work) is pure and real and strenuous. And we often see nothing for our work. Little to no appreciation, and little to money.