Maybe it was my new header photo, taken in Jamaica by one of my students, that inspired me to recall the Bob Marley song, Everything’s Gonna Be Alright. The lyrics popped into my mind yesterday while I sat at the kitchen table paying bills. Outside, dark clouds covered the sky and nearly two feet of snow covered the ground. I should have been depressed, but I felt hopeful.
For a long time, I’ve felt rather hopeless and stuck. I won’t bore you as to why, but suffice to say that if there is a purgatory on earth, it seemed I was in it. Then on this dreary day, hope and Bob Marley’s lyrics filled me. The sense that I was reaching the end of a dark period has been slowly infiltrating my psyche of late, and in that moment I felt the light at the end of the tunnel beckoning me. I am embracing this light with open arms and resolve that I am worthy of it. This last is important because if we don’t feel worthy of something, we are far less likely to get it.
We all go through mini, and sometimes extended, purgatories, stuck and dark periods from which we can’t seem to escape. Maybe they are needed to process trauma or grief. Maybe they are an incubation period for new growth. Maybe they exist so we can appreciate the beauty of life when the light returns.
If you’re feeling stuck and/or hopeless right now, take heart: This, too, shall pass. The light will return in your life and everything will be all right. If you don’t believe me, take Bob Marley’s word for it.
How can anyone not feel happy listening to this song? Thank you, Mr. Marley, for sharing your beautiful spirit with the world through your music.
I loved your new header photo! It’s beautiful. I also think that the darkness exist to put things into perspective and to appreciate the light.
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I’m glad you like it, Svet. I needed a change and I’m in love with this photo, especially given the fact that it’s been snowing for five days! But I still have my dogwood flowers 🙂
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Great quote and lyrics, Kim. And you’re right, it usually does pass..:)
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Hi George, glad you liked both. I am really enjoying playing the song and dancing in the kitchen while I cook and clean 🙂
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All things must pass, as you say. Sometimes a little mantra can help when we’re feeling a little negative. It may be a bit of a cliché, but a powerful one is “Don’t worry, be happy”. Sometimes, the mind can be coerced into a different state by a few words, or perhaps tracing a smile upon our faces when we don’t quite feel settled. Then again, it’s only right that life brings a blend of moods and states, positive and negative, and those that attempt to appear happy all the time are quite often brittle emotionally, in truth, I find. You’ll be fine Kim, somehow I just know it.
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Hi Hariod, what a coincidence because last night I decided to meditate to “Don’t worry, be happy” instead of the usual mantra. I guess I was in a Bob Marley mood :). I agree that life brings a blend of moods and we must ride them all. It’s part of being human.. Thanks for your comments, Hariod!
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I too use that saying ….. a lot actually. It’s helps me every time to remember all the hard stuff that is now behind me. And of course some of it was painful like a kidney stone haha, hadn’t heard that one before.
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Hi Charlotte, thanks for stopping by. One of my Facebook friends posted the quote and I loved it right away. Of course, I’ve never passed a kidney stone, but a woman I know who gave birth and passed a kidney stone said the stone was much worse – Lol
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Hi Kim, I just now realised your reply, sorry. I thought giving birth was bad enough. I’ll avoid kidney stones then. : )
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Very true. It’s just that sometimes it feels as though it won’t!
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Sometimes, indeed, it does Mick. Though listening to that song gives me happy hope!
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Such a great song! Thanks for sharing it with us! Also, in the end everything will be alright… if it isn’t, then it is not the end. 🙂 (Albus Dumbledore, if I’m correct)
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What a great quote! Dumbledore has much wisdom to share 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
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Funny, I feel like you…like suddenly my dark clouds have parted. After years of confusion and darkness. It may not be permanent, but I am hopeful that it may be mostly so. I’ve been working hard for a long time to get through my muck. And this venture to Florida has been to help with this…the walk into the barren zone of my soul. To clear it out so I can set the stage for the new. There’s always residual, and maybe even new stuff, but if we come to it from a stronger place, we can deal. I have never felt as strong, positive and shiny as I have today. And, I also feel like I have more faith…in my future, the Universe to simply guide me to a decent and right space. PS I LOVE your Buddha saying!! xoxo Wonderful and soul sister post!
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I’m so glad you liked the post, and I am especially glad that you’re feeling positive about life. I love Florida. My oldest (adult) son is there, as is my father and brother, so the state is very dear to me. I definitely see myself living there all or part of the year one day. Keep on shining!
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🌻🌴⛱☉🌞
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I’m so glad you’re feeling hopeful again, Kim! And you absolutely deserve it. When we are going through troubled times, it does seem as they will last forever, but they don’t. There is always light at the end of the tunnel, even when we aren’t quite able to see it. Glad the light is shining on you now!
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Thanks, Ann. I’m wondering if it’s really an energetic shift or all in my mind. Either way, it’s a shift 🙂
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I think things do change around us, but we have to have the mindset to appreciate it, so it’s probably both! Once when we were going through a dark time, I was having a really hard time not being bitter, even when friends would point out things that ought to have cheered me up. But then one day, the bird that used to hang out on our back deck (we named it Oscar, even though it was wild) returned from a month-long absence, and somehow, I just got this feeling that things were going to be okay again. And they were. It’s odd how seeing a bird could replace bitterness with a sense of hope and peace, but it did!
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Great story, Ann.
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Hi Kim. Love the blog. I stumbled across it and I’m so happy I did. I needed to read this today. ☺
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Hi Lisa! I’m so glad it’s what you needed. I always say if I can make a positive difference with even one reader, I’ve done my job 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Good reminders and well said. I think I should change my morning alarm to that song😊
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I love that idea! What a happy way that would be to start the day 🙂
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One of my favorites 🙂 Just got back from Jamaica, actually, and including my post on it below if you are interested in looking! Follow for follow?
https://lifeinlipstick.wordpress.com/2017/02/14/montego-bay-jamaica/
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Thanks! I look forward to checking it out. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I’ve never been to Jamaica, but it’s on my bucket list.
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Such an uplifting hopeful song and I’m sure you’re right Kim, it’s time to come out of purgatory. I’ve been in one too for a while now but like you I’m starting to see that light. Everything does pass and we all grow through it, don’t we, sometimes whether we want to or not. Warmest wishes to you xo
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Thank you, Miriam. I’m so glad to hear that you, too, are starting to see the light. Maybe there is some kind of energy shift that’s taking place, in spite of the craziness going on in the world.
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I’d like to think so Karen. Seems there are quite a few of us feeling the same way. x
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I love Bob Marley, he is such an inspiration.
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I agree. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
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That header image looks great 🙂
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Thank you! One of my students, who is originally from Jamaica, took that when he went back home for a visit.
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