The Key

Yesterday, my amazing friend Lori Baldwin uttered very timely words to me and a group of friends. They are words I already believed, but it was nice to hear them again. In so many words she said: “I had an epiphany recently. Life is really just a dream. And in our dreams, we can create whatever we want.” Think about your dreams. What kind of crazy shit do you have going on in there?? I know mine are always weird, nonsensical and random. And as they are simply reflections of our consciousness in that moment, so is life, because the reality we perceive as life is but a dream that we are experiencing.

I believe where a lot of people get stuck in their ability to create what they want out of life is down the avenue of Gratitude. Sure, you may have strolled down it before, you may even know Gratitude Ave. like the back of your hand...but I believe in all of us, there is something down that street of which we have never before taken notice. I can’t tell you what that is, because everyone’s stroll has been different, so I challenge you to see what it is for you. Now, the reason I hypothesize this is based on experiences I’ve shared with myself, as well as experiences I’ve shared with others. When I reflect on my experience with life, creation and gratitude, a set of lyrics from “Grey,” one of my favorite Ani DiFranco songs, comes to mind. I’ve posted the set to which I’m referring immediately below, as well as the whole song -- in case you’re interested -- at the very bottom of this post.

“My little pink heart is on its little brown raft, floating out to sea…What kind of Paradise am I looking for? I’ve got everything I wanted, but still I want more. Maybe some tiny, shiny key will wash up on the shore…Regretfully, I guess I’ve got three simple things to say: Why me? Why this, now? Why this way?”

I know I’ve felt this way, really as a constant in my life, and I firmly believe we all have felt this way. No matter what side of the spectrum on which we lie, I believe we have all experienced this wanting, this desire, this loneliness in our lives to some degree. I used to let myself wallow in such melancholy, thinking it was cathartic. And who knows, it may have been...but what I believe now is that wallowing there does not ultimately serve me. Another friend posted yesterday on her Facebook page: “When you notice you are not getting what you want, instead notice what you aren’t getting that you don’t want.” I think that’s a first step. I think the next step is FULL-ON gratitude! In my opinion, the “tiny, shiny key” to which the song refers is Gratitude; Gratitude, for whatever circumstances may come to you, is the key to forward movement. If I’m having a horrendous day, I can see it as hell and sulk, or I can look at it with the mindset of “Well, thank god that day is over, on to the next!” or “Wow, if I’m having such a bad day, I wonder how the women in Iraq are doing. Thank you for blessing me with this life.”

To further this acknowledgment in your life, here are some questions to get you going:

For what kind of Paradise are you looking?
If you don’t have said Paradise, then what is getting in your way?
For what are you grateful today – really, genuinely grateful?
How can you be grateful and take your next step?



For your enjoyment, here are the full lyrics to "Grey," by Ani DiFranco, from the album "Reveling and Reckoning: Reckoning":

The sky is grey
The sand is grey and
The ocean is grey.

I feel right at home
In this stunning monochrome,
Alone in my way.

I smoke and I drink and
Every time I blink
I have a tiny dream.

But as bad as I am,
I'm proud of the fact
That I'm worse than I seem.

What kind of paradise am I looking for?
I've got everything I wanted and still I want more.
Maybe some tiny, shiny key will wash up on the shore...

You walk through my walls
Like a ghost on TV
You penetrate me

And my little pink heart
Is on its little brown raft,
Floating out to sea.

And what can I say but
I'm wired this way?
And you're wired to me...

And what can I do
But wallow in you
Unintentionally?

Oh, what kind of paradise am I looking for?
I've got everything I wanted and still I want more.
Maybe some tiny, shiny key will wash up on the shore.

Regretfully,
I guess I've got three
Simple things to say:
Why me?
Why this, now?
Why this way?

Th'overtone's ringing,
Undertow's pulling away
Under a sky that is grey
On sand that is grey
By an ocean that's grey!

And what kind of paradise am I looking for?
I've got everything I wanted and still I want more.
Maybe some tiny, shiny key will wash up on the shore...