Did you ever get a song stuck in your
head and wonder why? Maybe it’s just one
of those darn catchy ones that you hear over and over like a commercial and
can't shake. Maybe there’s another reason…
It’s been a hectic week filled with upheaval and uncertainty. As we were on a long drive
home, Russ played a song I thought might be uplifting, but turned out instead
to be rather sad. I immediately asked
him to play another song that I thought might have more of an inspiring
effect. It did – and then I couldn’t
stop singing it for two days:
You fill up my senses
Like a night in the forest
Like the mountains in springtime
Like a walk in the rain
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses – Come fill me again
Come let me love you
Let me give my life to you
Let me drown in your laughter
Let me die in your arms
Let me lay down beside you
Let me always be with you
Come let me love you – Come love me again
(Annie's Song, John Denver)
As
I searched for a blog idea, I was hoping to find inspiration in services at
church. There, during the lecture, I was reminded that most
often we can find the answers we seek in silence and in peace; and I was also reminded how oftentimes, we are too busy and loud to just sit and listen to our inner voice. In times of turmoil, stress or change we might simply quiet ourselves, meditate, breathe and just be
still. That’s when the answers come.
Okay. I can do that…
I joined the group meditation
in the service. I closed my eyes and
felt only my breath. They were playing a relaxing instrumental song with a flute in the background.
It was as if some distant flute player was calling me toward
something – like some happy idea-thought
was waiting for me just beyond a hill I had to first climb over. As I relaxed into my breath, I felt like I was floating upward toward this happy idea-thought,
being drawn to it like some kind of balloon. (Hey! This might work!)
Then it occurred to me… I’ve
already done this! I had been singing a song
I found beautiful and comforting. I had
been repeating it like a mantra. I kept
returning to the words that I found joyous and uplifting.
Without even realizing, I had been giving myself a message. My inner voice had been singing to me. :)
Many of us know that we want
to move away from stress and toward happiness, but often we’re not sure
HOW.
How’s this? Take a few moments of quiet and listen. What are we already saying to ourselves? In times of doubt and uncertainty, I am going
to try and remember to continue moving toward the joy – to find some happy
thought or feeling and cling to it consciously. I’ll
seek something uplifting.
When in doubt, I’ll go up.
Maybe I'll sing...
