As the world goes by, all I know is I want to live Wide Awake…
~Christine Kane
That quote is a small piece of lyric to a new song off of Christine Kane’s new CD Wide Awake that has been running through my mind like a mantra for weeks now. It plays constantly in my mind-while I am awake, when I am talking to others, reading books, writing…even when I am sleeping I can hear it in my dreams, playing like the theme song in the background.
Regular readers of this blog know that this year has been one of many challenges…one of many losses.
I also know that I am not alone in that. A lot of my friends are unemployed, spending their time worried about job searching, cutting back on their already tight budgets, figuring out new ways to stretch a dollar, changing relationships… finding that they have had to redefine who they thought they were.
That’s OK. Some times in our life we have periods like that.
We can’t spend every day on the beach, dancing in the sunlight. That’s not reality.We don’t always get to choose when the bad ones are coming. Sadly, bad things do happen to good people sometimes.
What we do get to choose is to embrace life. All of it. The good, the OK, and the bad.
Here is something I have come to understand over the past few months, from my own rough couple of months, and in talking to others. Sometimes, when the going gets rough, when illness strikes, when job loss happens, when relationships sour, when folks start the long drawn out process of messy divorce…any number of things…
They stop living.
They start waiting.
Waiting for life to get better so they can go back to living again. They grind their heels to a halt, they stop having fun, they stop looking around, they stop appreciating the wonder and beauty and simple joys around them and they wait… for happiness to come back.
They stop seeing. They wait with their eyes closed to the the amazing world around them.
As the World Goes By…All I Know Is I…Want To Live Wide Awake….
YES.
Life is too short. I want to live wide awake. I don’t want to miss one vibrant rainbow colored moment of it. I want to celebrate life. I want to run. The best way to beat death? Live your dreams until your last breath is dragged out of you. The best way to beat depression? Laugh til the tears stream down your face. The best way to beat poverty? Share with the world, be generous, love until your heart overflows and do what you love with unbridled passion. The best way to be happy? Be grateful- and notice everything around you that there is to be grateful for.
The best way to live Wide Awake? All of the above….
and?
How do you live Wide Awake?
And on a more personal note…Christine, if you are listening, thank you. Your CD came out at the exact time it was meant to. It arrived in my mailbox the week my precious friend was ready to let go and move on to the next world and every song spoke words of encouragement and strength and hope. Wide Awake kept me going, Break let me mourn, and I’ll Be Your Angel reminded me that we never really lose anyone. And the others…well…let’s just say they reminded me of who I am. Never doubt that what you do is a hell of a lot more than just entertainment.
