Experience poet David Whyte through composer Mark Guiliana’s lens in this sonic and visual collaboration on gratitude.
Words by David Whyte | Music and Visuals by Mark Guiliana
David Whyte x Mark Guiliana
Waking Up is proud to share a special collaboration between poet David Whyte and musician Mark Guiliana—a meditative exploration of gratitude through word, sound, and image.
Mark, known for his mastery behind the drums, steps into the role of composer and filmmaker—bringing David’s beloved essay “Gratitude” to life in an intimate and unexpected way. His original score and personal visuals invite you to slow down, listen, and reflect on what it means to be awake to the gift of life itself.
This one-of-a-kind piece is free to view and share—a reminder, especially at this time of year, to pause and notice the quiet abundance already around us.
Gratitude is not a passive response to something we have been given. Gratitude arises from paying attention, from being awake in the presence of everything that lives within and without us."
David Whyte
Behind the Collaboration
What began as a simple exchange of admiration between two artists became a shared meditation on gratitude.
Mark Guiliana—recording from his friend’s studio—set David Whyte’s words to music, blending acoustic textures and recordings from his world travels with raw, spontaneous moments from his creative process. The result is both deeply personal and profoundly universal—a sonic and visual reflection on presence, attention, and awe.
On improvisation.
Poets can be rockstars, too.
Dueting with spoken word.
David Whyte's voice is so powerful and expressive, and his timbre occupies a very specific space in the sonic landscape. It was important to me to not clutter those frequencies and try to avoid where he's living in the music, so as to give him the space that he deserves."
Mark Guiliana
About David Whyte
David Whyte is a poet and the author of eleven books of poetry and four books of prose, including Consolations II, Still Possible, David Whyte: Essentials, and The Three Marriages: Reimagining Work, Self and Relationships. David holds a degree in marine zoology, honorary degrees from Neumann College and Royal Roads University, and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon, and Himalaya. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures, and workshops. David is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, and is a founder of Invitas: The Institute for Conversational Leadership.
About Mark Guiliana
A Waking Up member since 2018, Grammy-nominated superstar drummer & composer Mark Guiliana brings an adventurous spirit, eclectic palette, and gift for spontaneous invention to a staggering range of styles. He’s become a key collaborator with such original sonic thinkers as St. Vincent, Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam/Soundgarden), Brad Mehldau, Meshell Ndegeocello, and the late, great David Bowie. Mark found inspiration in Waking Up with his latest album, questions (volume one), where he presents nine “questions” that investigate the quiet tension of unresolved thought.
Go Deeper with Waking Up
Waking Up is more than a meditation app. It's a gateway to a deeper understanding of yourself and to a new way of being in the world. Through guided meditations, lessons, and conversations with leading teachers and scholars, Waking Up presents the best of ancient wisdom and modern knowledge about the art of living well.