songs that keep me afloat

There are a couple songs I play any time I need a reminder to slow down, live in the moment, and not be too hard on myself.



Just about every day I wake up super excited about life. I bolt out of bed, do my morning yoga, and walk the dogs. The whole time my mind is throwing ideas faster than I can catch them. Whether I'm heading to the library for work or working at home, at about 11 I realize I may not be able to get through everything on my list. It's actually pretty rare for me to get through everything on my list, but I always wake up thinking I will. 

This is when I remind myself that this is probably the reason I wake up excited every morning. I'm never finished. I'm always in the middle of something grand. And sometimes, though I'm irritated by it at the time, there are nights I wake up with the answers to the day's problems or a better way to do something that, thankfully, I had to leave unfinished.

Deb Talan's song is good for that midday slump. It's a reminder that I wake up each day in joy, and that my first purpose in life to be present - be a part of life, make connections with others, and stay connected to everything that feeds my enthusiasm for life.

Steffany Gretzinger's song is a reminder to be open to positivity. To sweep away the negativity with deep breaths and be there for myself and others.

 
When all else fails, when I'm feeling overwhelmed and I'm running into one obstacle after another, including ones I've created myself, I listen to "I Will Let You Down," and most of the time I feel a bit better. For me, the song is more directed at myself than anyone else. It's a nice reminder that I'm not always going to get everything done and done perfectly. I'm going to forget songs during storytime. I'm going to write such a cheesy poem, there's no possible way to unbury myself from the cheese. I'm going to accidentally let it slip how I much I loathe a character in a book Izzy and I read together. I make mistakes. I'm human. And my biggest critic is myself. When I listen to this song I get a little chuckle and move on.