I started the previous blog talking about the kind of funeral you and I would want to have. It directly ties into today’s blog which is this: we’ll never be this young again.
We’ll never be this young again. I love that.
It’s a lyric from Ben Rector’s brilliant, brilliant album called The Joy of Music. The premise of the record is around things that don’t get spoken about in most pop music – things like adulting, being a dad and “living a life you don’t write songs about”. My personal favourite: “This house is now a litany of things I never thought I’d be – a man who has opinions on an ornament, among other things.”
What I like about his songs is they are simple and quite profound.
But back to the topic for today.
“I spoke to myself last night in a dream
I was about twenty-one, it was the craziest thing
And I went to a party with all of my friends
And it brought tears to my eyes to see us together again”
Pause there. What would you tell your 21-year-old self?
I must be honest, and say I’m not entirely sure. As I look back now, I cringe at some things. It’s not the long hair or the fashion choices. That stuff was unavoidable. (Well, mostly.)
I remember a few things off the cuff. Yup: long hair. Also: third year of university, studying fine art and psychology. I drove an old Audi, worked odd coaching jobs and hustled gigs for our band Pulse. I was restless, truth be told, and I wanted more.
I think that’s par for the course as far as young adults go. It’s a stage of life that includes music festivals and digs parties, but it was also a season, at least for me, where I had my eyes on the horizon. Thinking about what I really wanted to do with my life, who I wanted to spend it with, where I wanted to live. And deep down, I was trying to solve the WHY.
There’s a term that comes to mind, called self-transcendence. It’s basically when you find meaning by focussing less on your own naval and rather on those around you, and the world at large. As you do that, there’s an inner peace that comes from it.
I’ve found this to be true. For example, when I make my wife coffee in the morning, there’s peace in the world around me.
So transcend yourself. Look out for others. #selfcaresundays aside, seek to serve. Because we’ll never be this young again.
