I’m in the process of gathering speakers for the RADiCAL Divorce Recovery Conference in February. I’m pumped! I’m lining up powerful, smart, articulate women who want to share their wisdom and expertise in the area of recovery they are passionate about. These women have all overcome obstacles in their lives and yet have come out stronger and more open to joy than ever. And they aren’t afraid to speak up and make waves if they have to.
Sometimes as women we mistakenly think we need to tone down a little for fear of being called the B word … or bossy or shrill. And especially if we’re Christian women, we have been trained to “as much as possible try to get along with everyone.” Sometimes restraint and a soft answer are called for, but sometimes we need to speak up! And speak up so there is no question at all about what we’re thinking. And yelling shouldn’t be off the table either if the situation calls for it.
I found a great quote in another book I found on the bargain table at some bookstore: It’s entitled, Women’s Lip — Outrageous, irreverent and just plain hilarious quotes. Some of them are not appropriate even for this RADiCAL blog, but a quote by Lily Tomlin really hit home. In the section on things to worry about, she says, “I worry that the person who thought up Muzak might be thinking up something else.”
Marketers have figured out that some music makes us buy more … it’s in grocery stores and retail shops. But then there’s the usually awful Muzak in shopping malls and elevators. When you think about it, Muzak was designed to not offend anybody. It was supposed to be non-committal, non threatening … sort of white noise. Something to take up space inoffensively. To always be in the background of our consciousness. I don’t want music like that. I don’t want a life like that. I want both music and a life that is “loud and proud.”
Whatever you decide to do today, do it with your whole self. Pick out your favorite music in your car or on your I-pod or your CD player and play it louder than usual and get the beat as you go about your work. Let the people in the car beside you wonder what you’re listening to. Let your co-workers or your neighbors wonder why you’re nodding your head and moving your body. Let the dog perk up her ears to try to figure out what you’re doing.
Whatever it is you’re doing in the hours of this day, do it with gusto and joy. Let your music and your life literally move you. Get into them both. Don’t just drift through life without realizing what an amazing, incredible gift it is. No Muzak today! Take the stairs! Live like you mean it!
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart …” Colossians 3:23a
