One of the questions I’m most frequently asked
is about my family,
so I’m taking a moment here
to share my thoughts about this.
I can tell you
that there have been many false stories
in circulation
about me and my family.
One particularly humorous one
that got a lot of traction
is that I’m Cat Stevens’ son.
Now,
I have a lot of love for him,
he’s a beautiful person
and obviously an acclaimed musician,
but
full disclosure
no
I’m not his son.
You won’t hear me speak about my family
first of all
because I’m a very private person
and secondly,
because it would be disrespectful to them.
privacy to me
is precious
and it saddens me
that
it’s become devalued,
as people
eagerly share details of
every aspect of their lives online
and feed the social media machine.
But I would tell my young listeners
especially, something that my wise grandmother
used to say.
“Before you speak,
cook your words.”
Think about the consequences
of what you’re sharing.
You can’t put
the toothpaste back in the tube.
Whatever you put out there
about yourself and anyone else
will be there forever.
Think carefully.
Will you
or others benefit from it?
Do you think it will represent you
in five or let's say ten years time?
You’ll change
and grow
throughout your life.
Valuing your privacy
will allow you
to have second chances
and reinvent yourself
without being followed by regrettable things
posted online.
To me,
questions about my family
are absolutely connected to privacy
and privacy is something that I want to protect
not only for myself
but those close to me.
Because I have a career
that has a public face
doesn’t mean
I have the right to share information about people
in my life,
nor do I want to.
Actually, just the opposite.
I believe I have an obligation to protect their privacy.
I rarely share personal details about my own life,
let alone
those of my family.
It would be disrespectful
to disclose information about them.
It would violate boundaries of trust.
I am a composer,
a musician
and to the extent that I want to be known,
I want to be known
for my contributions to the field of music,
especially
to reviving and continuing
the rich legacy of traditional music
still existing in this world.
Because in the end
it’s the work that matters,
not the person behind it,
as long as that person strives to develop
a character
worthy of his or her goal.
So when I see misleading or false statements
about myself in various sources,
I don’t feel the need to rush out and correct them,
thus revealing more about myself
and my close ones than
we would want,
and straying into the realm of celebrity.
I keep in mind this quote
from long before the information age
by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Whatever games are played with us,
we must play no games with ourselves,
but deal
in our privacy
with honesty and truth.”
For those who have asked about my family
and other personal aspects of my life,
I hope you’ll now understand
my reasons for remaining silent
when it comes to this.