A Song to Get Stuck in your Head
As I was rushing through my morning, taking my breakfast to go and my dog on a shorter walk so I could squeeze in one more ‘to do’, I came across a message written in chalk on the path in my neighborhood park. We have a regular chalk ‘messenger’, who fills the paths with inspirational phrases, like “push harder” “go, go, go” and “you’re almost there.” Surely meant to keep the folks in her workout group moving along and gettin’ it done, yet on this day, as I was jipping my dog of her usual sniff, stroll sniff, I knew that this message was meant for me. It read “Slow down, you move to fast” and while my singing self took it from there, for the rest of our walk, my mind was simultaneously flooded with the overwhelming schedules that these long sunny summer days can bring.
While most of us won’t complain about the attitude shift a sunny day offers, nor the extra hours of light to pack in as much outside fun as possible, there is often an underlying layer of dissatisfaction that builds as our routines are broken and we just can’t seem to get much done without distraction. As we are out there being busy busy in the summer sun, other areas of our life are impacted in a way that can be frustrating. I’m talking about personal and sometimes professional agendas. I discovered as I grow my business, that the summer months sometimes feel as if I am taking two steps forward and one step back, with everyone either on vacation or getting ready for vacation or still in vacation mode, post vacation and then the many, very natural, distractions of porch parties, BBQ’s and Birthday parties… How’s a body supposed to get to the many things that feel important? Recently, I have decided that all those Europeans who take August off to go to the sea have figured something out. This simple surrender to the preciousness of the season seems as clear as the blue summer sky. But for those of us who can’t do that, I offer this proposition; let’s at least make a pact with ourselves to shift gears a bit, adjust our expectations and slow down to make the morning or moment last.
Once I became truly present in the park on my walk with the dog, my new summer mantra appeared,“Embrace the pace.” Backed up by the lyrics of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The 59th Street Bridge Song”, or “Feelin’ Groovy.” Here goes…
Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy.
Ba da, Ba da, da da da… Feelin’ Groovy
Hello lamppost,
What cha knowing?
I’ve come to watch your flowers growing.
Ain’t cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in’ doo-doo,
Feelin’ groovy.
Ba da, Ba da, da da da… Feelin’ Groovy
I got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I’m dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy~~~
No need to interpret these lyrics, just get them stuck in your head.