Scratch an Itch or Embrace an Itch

Scratch an Itch or Embrace an Itch

I have a good and sturdy back-scratcher in my drawer, and I use it almost every night before going to bed.  I have learned to manipulate it to hit the itchy spots on my back.  An itch demands to be dealt with.

I’ve had other itches.  I wanted to drum like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, so I practiced, studied and listened to their drum licks.

I had the itch to write for over thirty years, yet all I did for much of that time was scratch the itch a few times.  Finally, I decided to embrace that itch.  Now, four books and a whole passel of blogs later, I suppose one could say I am a writer. 

See the point?  We ‘artist types’ ultimately have to embrace the itch, an idea, a proclivity.  We have to recognize the knock of a potential call and open the door to whatever that itch has to offer.

Oh, we may not be very good, at first, but with a bit of effort, and practice who knows what might happen? 

Got an itch?  Perhaps it’s time to embrace it.

(This blog is based on a quote from Seth Godin’s book – What to Do when It’s Your Turn.)

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Your Inner Voice Speaks

Your Inner Voice Speaks

Before he became Randy Travis, Randy was rejected by every major record label in Nashville twice.  Can you imagine that?  He heard more “no’s” than he ever thought a person should hear.

So, what happened in the meantime to turn little-known Randy into Randy Travis, winner of seven Grammy awards, eight Dove awards, and a whole string of other awards and accolades.

Randy believed more in himself than he believed in the naysayers of the music world.  He knew he had the stuff within to become a super star, and he persisted, he honed his craft, he practiced, and practiced some more, until his break came.  He became a super star because he believed in himself.

He didn’t let the “no thanks” and the “we don’t need your type” slow him down. 

He listened to his inner voice that kept saying, “you can do this”, “you have something unique that the world needs to hear”. 

What is your inner voice saying to you about you? 

That is a critical piece of the equation in our search for the top.

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

No Small Life for Me

No Small Life for Me

Poet Mary Oliver says this: “I don’t want to live a small life.”

I think about this quote from time to time, for it troubles me if I let it.  So, what am I doing and what can you do to live into your life in a large way?

I’m seventy-years-old now. I don’t have the physical endurance I had at 50.  I sometimes need to sit down for a few minutes to give my muscles a chance to recover.  Some might say I’m living a small life.

But wait … there’s more. 

I can still think.  I can use my brain power to write and produce podcasts.  My fingers still glide over these computer keys, and I can still make some sense of my thoughts of hope and inspiration. 

I could go into a remorseful state, I suppose, and think some horrible thoughts.

If you want a mechanic, don’t call me.

If you want a house painter, I’m not your man.

If you want a plumber, I’d probably do more damage than good.

So, if you want any if those skills, perhaps you’d say I’m living a small life.

However … catch me in my best stride as a writer.  I think I can still put some words together to encourage you.  That is no small thing, you know.  There seems to be a lot of discouragement in this ‘ole world at the moment.  Maybe we need lives large and in full color who can brighten our daily existence.  

That is a good way to live large, if you ask me. 

What can you do to live a large life?  I’ll not speak for you, but allow your thoughts, your ideas and your gifts to rise to the occasion at hand.

Above all, remember this.  The opposite of small isn’t necessarily large.  Perhaps it is reframing this idea into “living a useful life”.

A USEFUL life.  I like that.

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring

Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring

I have a friend named Jim.  You should have seen Jim in his forties.  He was what one might call an up-and–commer.  And now, Jim is 90.  He moves a lot slower, his mind isn’t as sharp as it once was.

Ah, but he can still speak, and write, and pray.  He loves to pray.  Jim is ringing the bell that he can still ring.  How about that!

Leonard Cohen gave us this phrase from one of his songs

Ring the bells that still can ring.

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

~Leonard Cohen

My goodness. That is a profound idea. 

And so, we ring our bells in these days and in these times.

If that is all we can do for now, then that is what we should do, for now!

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration