On Saturday night I was at the Yale volleyball game cheering for our wonderful athletes. It is really fun to see people thrive at their craft.
Whoever was in charge of the playlist during timeouts and between sets was having a great time. When Yale challenged a call, trying to get the refs to change the play call for Yale’s benefit, Michael Jackson’s Man in the Mirror would quietly come on the loud speakers with Michael singing about “making a change.” When Brown tried to overturn calls that were in Yale’s favor, The Beatles’ Let It Be would play.
While I doubt either of these songs played into the psychology of the refs as they were discerning what to do, I found myself really listening to the lyrics of Let It Be for the first time in quite some time. The words are timeless, speaking of how we can cope when times are tough.
The song reminded me of a conversation I find myself having a lot these days. Namely, what does it feel like to truly exhale? When is the last time you were able to really let go of something you have been holding? What could it look like to incorporate a regular practice of release into our lives? To release our fear, release our nerves, release the things we never had the ability to control in the first place.
Our world is so full. We take in a lot of information every day. Our phones are constantly notifying us of what new unthinkable thing has just happened. Even separate from the news, Yale is a very full place – full of information that we are constantly absorbing all while trying to keep our heads above water.
As humans, we have gotten so good at taking in information. I wonder sometimes if we ever learned how to take some information out.
What might it look like to simply let some things just be? What might it feel like, to truly exhale and release that which we are carrying? What could it look like to limit some of the information that we are taking in when scrolling late at night? Maybe you give Brick (a phone app blocker) a try – limiting the functions of your phone during certain times of day. Maybe you prioritize releasing bad energy through exercise or destination-less walks. Maybe you find prayer, meditation or journaling helpful and you carve out more space to engage in that which calms your spirit.
For this is a key part of being human: taking in, and letting go. Just as we inhale, we must exhale too.