...on that which does not serve me.
"You have to learn to get up from the table when love is no longer being served."
-Nina Simone
This quote was on the wall at City O City when I went there last week. It has been stuck in my head ever since.
I wish I had read this quote decades ago, but sometimes life doesn't present things to us until we are totally ready to receive them. I am certain I was not ready to really grasp and implement the notion Ms. Simone is teaching here...until now.
I think this is an EXCELLENT lesson for all of us to embrace in the New Year: do not waste your time or energy or any other resources in situations, with ideas or people that do not serve you and your life in a positive, beneficial fashion.
Make no mistake - this does not mean to abandon conversation or communication about hard topics. That DOES serve a purpose. What it does mean (to me, at least) is to stop with this "never give up" bullshit that we have been fed our whole lives. I am officially banishing "never give up" and replacing it with "choose your efforts wisely." So often, it seems, we spend our time and energy trying and trying and trying when 1) it's futile and 2) it doesn't serve us. We do it out of guilt. Or image. Or because it is what we are told is supposed to be important.
I am calling bullshit. B-U-L-L SHIT.
Find what and who serves your purpose, feeds your soul and challenges you to grow. That's it. That's what we should be chasing. Happiness comes from within and when we spend all of our time and energy "never giving up" on the wrong things, then we don't have energy for the right things. So, ask yourself WHY. Be that toddler that has a never-ending supply of "But why?" Keep the fuel behind your fire close at heart and frequently review what matches you are striking to keep it burning.
It's ok to give up. In fact, it's good for us. Giving up on something means that you will have energy to "never give up" on something worthwhile.
I can't wait to see what I give up on in 2016. It's going to be a great year.
