Have you ever read a quote that stopped
you in your tracks? That when you read it, you felt the full meaning of it? The
meaning of it spoke to your core? I know a quote is good for me because
when it's spoken it loses its meaning. Does that make sense? By giving the
feeling words, it lessens its quality, because it can only be felt. This Anais
Nin quote was one of those for me. Isn't it true that in our life we have
seasons of growth and seasons of stability? Both are so important. When things
are good, we're going through life content, happy and blooming. As life would
have it, disaster strikes, something happens, and the world we know is no
longer. Or maybe, it's nothing significant, but you've felt a restlessness in
your "soul." All of these things are reasons to take a pause. Listen to what
life/the universe/God/yourself is trying to tell you. If you take the
opportunity to slow down and lean into it, you might find that this is a season
of growth, a chance to blossom in ways that you didn't know was possible.
"Whever you are, be there. This moment matters."
This quote or the idea of it
has been following me around for weeks. I've heard it in the past, but at the time, it was
just a "nice quote" or "words" to me. However, lately this quote has taken on it's
full meaning, and because I keep hearing it, I've become sensitive to it. When
it comes up, I pause and reflect on what's happening at that moment, attempting
to take away a Truth (big T) from whatever is going on around me.
A few
weeks after this quote about being in the moment took a hold of me, I decided to
buy a record player. I had been wanting one and finally decided to just do it. I
bought some records of my favorite artists to go along with it and brought it
home. Later that week, babe and I decided to break it out and listen to some
music. One of us commented that on Side A of one of the records, it only had a
couple of songs that we liked. Knowing that it isn't an easy task to skip to the
next song on a record, I said "we'll just listen to the whole thing. Maybe we'll
find our new favorite song from one that we haven't heard yet." Right then, I
realized the beauty of a record player. We have every song we could ever want on
our cellphones. If we don't like the next song that comes up on our music app,
we just hit the "skip" button and move on to the next song. I feel like we try
to do that with our lives. If we don't like this uncomfortable task or feeling
that's facing us, we just hit the skip button on life. We either ignore what's
happening and pretend it's not reality, run from it, or self-medicate so that we
can't feel it. By doing that, what are we missing out on? What new skill or
blessing is just waiting to blossom within you if you would face the uncomfortable head on and lean into it? Big T moment.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to Nashville. Nashville is one of my favorite places. I lived there for almost 6 years and every time I go back, I feel at home. There was a moment on Saturday afternoon, we were listening to a band at one of the bars on Broadway. This band was good. The singer could absolutely sing, but he also felt every single word. He didn't just get up there and sing the song, but he made you feel the emotions behind what he was singing. A moment of clarity hit me mid song. I bet if I heard this band on my phone, after they had taken the song to the studio to take out any of the notes that might be "just a tad too sharp," all that emotion that I was currently feeling would be gone. You see, I love music, all music, but my absolute favorite thing to do is to listen to live music. Give it to me in person where I can hear the mistakes. To me, the mistakes are what make it beautiful. The person that can't hit that note just right but sings it anyway with all the feeling in their being...that's the person I want to hear. Because we live in a world of filters and botox and tummy tucks and autotune, the imperfect is what is beautiful to me. Authenticity is what I’m drawn to. The person that is struggling but chooses to heal and learn and grow through the struggle, is someone I look at with so much respect. Bit T moment.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: Let's not rush life. Let's slow down and live it. Let's live it for what it is, good and bad, at that moment. Let’s remember that sometimes the struggle is the catalyst for exactly what we need to blossom. If we consciously choose to lean in to the uncomfortable, we might just end up with the biggest blessing we never imagined.
“Life is beautiful because it’s hard.”
Jamie
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