I Pod Shuttle for Life

Most mornings I go out for a 2-3 mile walk. I enjoy this routine and quiet time of day as I loop around town. Part of my routine is to take my I Pod along and listen to music or inspirational speaking presentations. Lately, I have chosen to just hit shuttle which allows random selections to rotate through. Since my I Pod has a capacity for 1000 selections, it's fun to see what may come up.

This morning as the shuttle took me from a selection from the soundtrack of Grease, to Josh Groban, to Carly Simon, to Bach, to Gary Renard to the Beatles, to James Taylor to Elvis etc. etc., I was enjoying the element of surprise. I love not knowing what is coming next. I love shifting my mood and attention to what is present in stereo in my ears in that moment. If something shuttles in that I really was not in the mood for such as John Denver's White Christmas, I shuttle ahead to the next piece.

Music inspires me. I love the feelings that come up depending on the words of the song or the tempo of the music. Some artists hold great appeal, no matter what they are singing. I notice when a song has a faster tempo, it seems to pull me up hills. Some softer selections, create a very peaceful feeling. Some words simply touch my heart. Some selections make me laugh.

Of course, I could not pass up the metaphor of this experience to see if it matches how I live life. The result of my pondering this question, is "Yes", I enjoy being surprised! Although at times, I like knowing what is coming next and will purposefully make a choice that fits my mood (both musically and in life), I generally love that feeling of anticipation in the short pause between songs or experiences. For me, it adds a bit of excitement since I have the opportunity to respond accordingly when that next song or that next experience occurs.

Whether it is music or life, I always have choice. The choice may not always be to fast forward to the next selection, but it is to respond to whatever is "next" in a way that feels good.