More on Flow
Dear Tired and Lost,
I recognize you. I recognize where you are at. And I want to reassure you that it is OK to be lost for a time. It is necessary to be lost.
There is a simple logic to this. You cannot find yourself without first being lost. You cannot catch what you do not drop. You have to open your fist and let what you are clenching fall.
If Carry Tennis is right, then all of this is normal. Carry Tennis is usually right, so lets roll with that.
The other day, I was driving across the world to bring some tools to a coworker. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” came on the radio. I couldn’t help myself from singing along with everyone’s favorite lines: everythings gonna be alright. everything’s gonna be alright. everything’s gonna be alright…
The next day, I went to the dentist for the first time in about eight years. It was pretty awful. I didn’t even notice what song was on the radio till I heard that line again. Everything’s gonna be alright. Everything’s gonna be alright… No kidding. I don’t know what that means if anything, but I have to take Bob at his word. Wouldn’t you?
Tags: ben harper | bob marley | flow | music
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3 Responses to “More on Flow”.
I remember being 18 or 19 and so sure of myself. Confident that I knew it all. Sure that I had a plan of how my life going to happen and all I needed was a little bit of time and it would all be mine. Boy, was I dumb! Cary is absolutely correct. You need to get lost and frightened and disheartened before you can really know anything. Before you can find your way forward.
There’s a really great Buffy quote that’s repeated almost word for word several times over the course of many episodes: “You think you know… what you are, what’s to come. You haven’t even begun.” I tell myself this ALL the time!
For the last 10 years now, my life’s motto has been “not all who wander are lost”. I deeply and passionately believe that being lost is not just a transition but a wonderful state in which we can learn so much about our world and ourselves.
Also – I think I might be a closet Bob Marley fan. Any time one of his songs comes on the radio, I crank it up and open my windows and sing loudly. It makes me feel amazing about life.
heheh why a “closet’ Marley fan? I’m not a hardcore fan (I can’t name many of his songs or recite the lyrics), but his music has totally been part of my life, especially b/c my one of my older brother’s is a fan, so I associate his music with good times with him.
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