I Won't Give Up

Have you ever had a favorite song that you've listened to hundreds of times, literally hundreds, and then all of a sudden you hear it with new ears and see it in a whole new way??  That is what happened to me this morning...

I am a HUGE fan of Jason Mraz, have been since I first heard him my freshman year of college.  His 2012 album, LOVE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD, came out the year I married my best friend and the most amazing man in my world.  We danced our first dance to Mraz's I'm Yours.  We were lucky enough to see him on his album tour and caught him in Barcelona, Spain on the last leg of our honeymoon.  It was a phenomenal show, the picture above was from that night.  This album has become one of my favorites because so much of it sings to the creative process, to Love and Law and how we interact with it.

The song I heard (again) this morning, released in January 2012, is called I Won't Give Up... maybe you've heard it?  It is definitely a love song, and I've always heard it from the perspective of a person singing to the person they love.

This morning, while watching the video below, I heard it completely differently...

Imagine singing these lyrics to all your brothers and your sisters.  All of humanity.  All of us... right here, right now... just as we are, and just as we are not.  Those that you love, and those that maybe you don't love so much, or not at all.  

Realizing that truly we are all one with the One, we all come from the One Creator of all Life... I know that Spirit, God, Divine Love is in us, as us, and through us.  I have faith.  

I won't give up on us.  

When I look into your eyes

It's like watching the night sky

Or a beautiful sunrise

There's so much they hold

And just like them old stars

I see that you've come so far

To be right where you are

How old is your soul?

Well, I won't give up on us

Even if the skies get rough

I'm giving you all my love

I'm still looking up

And when you're needing your space

To do some navigating

I'll be here patiently waiting

To see what you find

'Cause even the stars they burn

Some even fall to the earth

We've got a lot to learn

God knows we're worth it

No, I won't give up

I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily

I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make

Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use

The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake

And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend

For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn

We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in

I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am

I won't give up on us

Even if the skies get rough

I'm giving you all my love

I'm still looking up, still looking up.

Well, I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)

God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)

We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)

God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

I won't give up on us

Even if the skies get rough

I'm giving you all my love

I'm still looking up

(THANK YOU JASON MRAZ!!!)

Get into the Rhythm with Everything is Sound!

I discovered that family tensions seemed to run higher in the late afternoon during dinner preparations and homework.

At this month's Parent Forum, Rev. Pattie brought up the topic of creating a daily family  rhythm. Initially, I was resistant to the idea confusing rhythm with forcing a family of individuals into a set and rigid schedule. The last thing I needed was another hassle or argument trying to get the whole family to do something that wasn't necessarily required. 

But the more I sat with the idea, the more I realized what she actually meant by rhythm and really it only required me to cooperate. You see, I needed to find a daily rhythm. And when I set my own pace, swaying and moving with each little bump and bobble, I'm more at peace and centered. And, when I'm more at peace and centered, everyone around me feels it and acts accordingly. It reminds me of that saying, "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." I realized that living to my own beat creates internal contentment which then manifests in the external world. 

And the beautiful thing about setting your own rhythm, it doesn't require any great, earth-shattering changes. I found my rhythm in a song.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with life, then played a great song in the car or house and within seconds everything looked better, more manageable? 

Listening to Jason Mraz's music from the Love is a Four Letter Word CD provides me with a vacation from the daily ups and downs, resets my thinking and raises my vibration to joy! I found that one song in particular,  "Everything is Sound," refreshes my mind like a beautiful California spring day when you roll down the car windows, drive along the coast with music blasting and sing like no one is watching. 

In contemplating our family's need for rhythm, I discovered that tensions seem to run highest in the late afternoon and early evening when the kids are hungry waiting for dinner, stressed out over homework and overtired from a busy day. To counter the tension, I decided to put Love is a Four Letter Word on the CD player in the kitchen while I make dinner. It makes me happy. I sing, dance a little, and smile. I feel more relaxed and guess what!?! The whole atmosphere changes. Joy returns to the home. Yes, there is still homework questions and requests for a snack, but I handle them with more grace and ease. I am more present in the family dynamic and there is a whole lot less yelling. 

In the lyrics of "Everything is Sound," Mraz sings, "You don't need a vacation, when there is nothing to escape from." Isn't that so true? When we find our own rhythm and live at that tempo every moment is a song! Hallelujah!

Experience "Everything is Sound" for yourself. The lyrics are in the video so you can sing along then let me know by commenting if you feel lighter and refreshed. 

Let's All Sing...

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

My daily commute to work always consists of listening to positive music that uplifts me and keeps me centered, especially whilst dodging crazy drivers on the I-5 and trying to stay safe.  I spend a lot of time with Jason Mraz in my car, not only because I adore his voice, but also because his music is so filled with LOVE and truth.  In his song, "Living In The Moment", he starts it with:

If this life is one act
Why do we lay all these traps?
We put them right in our path
When we just wanna be free

I will not waste my days
Making up all kinds of ways
To worry about all the things
That will not happen to me

So I just let go of what I know I don't know
And I know I'll only do this by
Living in the moment

How much time do you spend thinking and worrying about the future?  I know that I tend to stress myself out thinking about all of the daunting tasks that are set before me.  Then, I remember that right here and right now, all is well.  Tomorrow is not here.  I stop, look around, and see the amazing beauty that surrounds me, living in Southern California, and remember to be grateful for my surroundings, my health, my friends, my family and all the gifts that I receive from every person I meet on a daily basis.  When I do that, my stress tends to dissipate little by little.

Later in the song Jason sings:

I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done
I let my past go past
And now I'm having more fun
I'm letting go of the thoughts
That do not make me strong
And I believe this way can be the same for everyone

And if I fall asleep
I know you'll be the one who'll always remind me
To live in the moment

 
How often do you dwell on the past and hold onto anger and resentment?  What I know is that every experience we have had has brought us to this moment in perfection.  Although those not-so-pleasant experiences don't appear to be in alignment with our greater good, there is always a gift of some type in which we cannot always see.  Whether or not it can be seen right now, the key component is LETTING IT GO and not allowing it to keep creeping up in our present lives.  Why live in the past!!!  What would happen if you just let it go and didn't dwell upon it?  What would you lose?  What would you gain?  Just something to think about.

The song concludes:

I'm living in the moment
I'm living my life
Oh, easy and breezy
With peace in my mind
Peace in my heart
Peace in my soul
Wherever I'm going, I'm already home
I'm living in the moment


Easy and breezy...doesn't that sound heavenly!  If I'm at peace with myself and the world, life is easy and breezy, and who wouldn't want that.  I'll take it.  Thanks to musicians such as Jason Mraz and so many other amazing songwriters who grace my car stereo, I do take it and live it.  See you on the roads   Namaste'