Splitting Time

The Mississippi is in my rear view mirror. I'll be in Amarillo by morning. Look out, Texas.

I was in Nashville last night. I wondered Broadway for the first time, went honking tonkin'. It was magnificent. I thought about that old country song, "Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places." I was even going to put a status update about how I wasn't looking for love in any place. But that suggests a bitterness that I don't have. I still believe in love. There is no wrong place for love, but it can come at a bad time. Why is timing everything? Can't it be something else once in a while??

As I was driving today, I thought about how things happen, how timing is everything. Wimberly points this out to me all the time, and she's right every single time. As we get older, time seems to pass us by so quickly. This led me to consider hummingbirds, since legends say they float free of time. Because they float, they embrace all that life has to offer, and celebrate the joy of everyday. That got me thinking: what are you doing today to embrace all that life has to offer? I think sometimes we get so caught up in all the drama that we forget how awesome this all is, how all these little moments that seem like nothing add up to everything. We have opportunities everywhere, every day to embrace joy. Are you embracing joy in your life, or getting so caught up that you miss it? And the joy isn't just the big, grand gestures like this trip I'm on. The joy can be something as simple as the sun shining or taking out the trash. I'm committed to embracing the joy in my life now, rather than embracing the drama. It's one of the most valuable lessons I've ever taken the time to learn.

I might be in a West Coast State of Mind, but my watch is still on East Coast Time. As for my heart, it still keeps time somewhere else.

Today, while celebrating the joy, I had a moment when I realized I was making a memory. Bean was texting me jokes, making me laugh as I crossed Arkansas. He asked me if I knew what an Angry Pirate was, and I guessed a pain in the "arrrrggghhhh-se" (arse...get it?). That guess was incorrect. Clever, but wrong. Story of my life! As it happened, though, I instantly knew this would be one of my favorite parts of my trip, laughing my ass off at silly jokes.

Hover and savor each moment, y'all, because it goes so, so fast. Do something every day to embrace the joy.

on the iPod: Sugar Mountain, Neil Young