Welcome back, Douglas! Beautiful post. This right here is particularly inspiring! "When you find what is yours to do, do it. Don’t ever regret being a person of integrity. It’s the only way our souls get satisfied." 🤍
I love music. It’s been a difficult road to get here—full of obstacles that felt insurmountable (and honestly, some were). But I realized I couldn’t see a life without doing what brings me joy.
I’ve gone from losing the use of my hands, my ability to walk, to losing my voice, and had to start from scratch—more than once. And yet, I’m happier now than I can remember being, even though many of my challenges have only worsened. Why? Because I love this. I believe that if you love something enough, you can stick with it—even when it hurts, even when it’s really hard and you suddenly feel terrible at it. If you love the work of getting better, there’s no limit to what you can do.
It’s a little like, “If you build it, they will come.” Even when the results don’t show up right away, if the practice feeds your soul, you’ll have the strength to keep going long enough to experience unforeseen benefits.
I still can’t play my guitar, but I can play my baritone ukulele—it’s like a mini guitar. (I am walking too.) And even though my voice has changed, I’m singing, performing, entertaining people… spreading joy simply by doing what I love. That gives me the emotional and spiritual endurance—and the sense of purpose—I need to get through everything else.
Some people are meant to focus on the news. For me, I have to limit it. My gifts are creative. This is one of those moments that calls for the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
I know I can make a bigger impact on the world when I focus on what I can control—my art, my voice, my joy, and I am much much happier doing that.
"Everyone should get off social media. It reduces human flourishing in the world, and it reduces human flourishing for you." YES DOUGLAS.
I have been saying this for years, but only had the courage to break with FB and IG two years ago. The outcome has been revelatory to my mental, social, and emotional wealth. Surprisingly, my financial wealth has been unaffected by the change. This was my biggest fear: I run a private online school, and I was afraid that I'd lose my livelihood if I stopped using social media to get the word out about my programs.
I think more of us need to start stating this fact about leaving social media more often, to more people, to normalize the sentiment and make it seem more possible to live without it.
Well that was way more than I expected and just what I needed/wanted to hear. Back to the business of love! One way I try to do that is to remember (as a wise friend told me) that we can see God/Love in each person's face. I look for God in the face of people I find annoying (sorry but it happens) and it helps me see God there and remember that this person is beloved by God and deserves love. It helps me be patient and kind. I kind of fell off the wagon recently so back at it for me! Thank you, Douglas.
Welcome back, Douglas! Beautiful post. This right here is particularly inspiring! "When you find what is yours to do, do it. Don’t ever regret being a person of integrity. It’s the only way our souls get satisfied." 🤍
I knew that was a Talking Heads link. I knew and I loved. And I clicked and I danced. Thanks, Douglas!
I love music. It’s been a difficult road to get here—full of obstacles that felt insurmountable (and honestly, some were). But I realized I couldn’t see a life without doing what brings me joy.
I’ve gone from losing the use of my hands, my ability to walk, to losing my voice, and had to start from scratch—more than once. And yet, I’m happier now than I can remember being, even though many of my challenges have only worsened. Why? Because I love this. I believe that if you love something enough, you can stick with it—even when it hurts, even when it’s really hard and you suddenly feel terrible at it. If you love the work of getting better, there’s no limit to what you can do.
It’s a little like, “If you build it, they will come.” Even when the results don’t show up right away, if the practice feeds your soul, you’ll have the strength to keep going long enough to experience unforeseen benefits.
I still can’t play my guitar, but I can play my baritone ukulele—it’s like a mini guitar. (I am walking too.) And even though my voice has changed, I’m singing, performing, entertaining people… spreading joy simply by doing what I love. That gives me the emotional and spiritual endurance—and the sense of purpose—I need to get through everything else.
Some people are meant to focus on the news. For me, I have to limit it. My gifts are creative. This is one of those moments that calls for the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
I know I can make a bigger impact on the world when I focus on what I can control—my art, my voice, my joy, and I am much much happier doing that.
"Everyone should get off social media. It reduces human flourishing in the world, and it reduces human flourishing for you." YES DOUGLAS.
I have been saying this for years, but only had the courage to break with FB and IG two years ago. The outcome has been revelatory to my mental, social, and emotional wealth. Surprisingly, my financial wealth has been unaffected by the change. This was my biggest fear: I run a private online school, and I was afraid that I'd lose my livelihood if I stopped using social media to get the word out about my programs.
I think more of us need to start stating this fact about leaving social media more often, to more people, to normalize the sentiment and make it seem more possible to live without it.
Well that was way more than I expected and just what I needed/wanted to hear. Back to the business of love! One way I try to do that is to remember (as a wise friend told me) that we can see God/Love in each person's face. I look for God in the face of people I find annoying (sorry but it happens) and it helps me see God there and remember that this person is beloved by God and deserves love. It helps me be patient and kind. I kind of fell off the wagon recently so back at it for me! Thank you, Douglas.
I like the idea of attending a great work of my life. What would it consist of? Any idea on the price or structure?