Feelin' Stronger Every Day
Today I am grateful for Darcy's safe travels over recent days and for the simplicity of exercises like push-ups and sit-ups that require little space and no equipment.
One of the songs I heard while on my run Saturday was one of my all-time favorites-Chicago's Feelin' Stronger Every Day. Listen to it here on YouTube. It was the first single released on the Chicago VI album in June of 1973. I like many Chicago songs, but this one, written by Peter Cetera and James Pankow, tops the list.
It struck a chord with me, even as that self-conscious and inhibited preteen I mentioned yesterday. The words, the music, the lively punch behind both, have always been able to get me fired up. But the song really became meaningful for me when I was just turning 20 and giving my first good effort to quitting drinking. It was like my own little pep talk, but a lot peppier than I could muster on my own.
The opening lines were words I said to myself, from myself: "I do believe in you and I know you believe in me." Later in the song the line "After what you've meant to me I can make it easily" were words meant just for my old buddy alcohol. Ever since then, the song always brings a smile and a fist pump, usually a figurative one, but a fist pump nonetheless.
I wasn't able to sustain my sobriety at that point. It lasted 464 days. Read more about that here in a post from a few weeks ago. But those 464 days made a difference in my journey. The song made a difference in my days. And I learned I would need more than myself to believe in. That was vitally important and remains so today.
Habitual gratitude practice helps me feel stronger every day too because it gives me energy. It doesn't zap it like self-pity, worry, and fear can. If you haven't tried it, I encourage you to start a list of your own, write a letter of thanks to someone, go for a gratitude walk. Take some action. I bet you will feel stronger.
One of the songs I heard while on my run Saturday was one of my all-time favorites-Chicago's Feelin' Stronger Every Day. Listen to it here on YouTube. It was the first single released on the Chicago VI album in June of 1973. I like many Chicago songs, but this one, written by Peter Cetera and James Pankow, tops the list.
It struck a chord with me, even as that self-conscious and inhibited preteen I mentioned yesterday. The words, the music, the lively punch behind both, have always been able to get me fired up. But the song really became meaningful for me when I was just turning 20 and giving my first good effort to quitting drinking. It was like my own little pep talk, but a lot peppier than I could muster on my own.
The opening lines were words I said to myself, from myself: "I do believe in you and I know you believe in me." Later in the song the line "After what you've meant to me I can make it easily" were words meant just for my old buddy alcohol. Ever since then, the song always brings a smile and a fist pump, usually a figurative one, but a fist pump nonetheless.
I wasn't able to sustain my sobriety at that point. It lasted 464 days. Read more about that here in a post from a few weeks ago. But those 464 days made a difference in my journey. The song made a difference in my days. And I learned I would need more than myself to believe in. That was vitally important and remains so today.
Habitual gratitude practice helps me feel stronger every day too because it gives me energy. It doesn't zap it like self-pity, worry, and fear can. If you haven't tried it, I encourage you to start a list of your own, write a letter of thanks to someone, go for a gratitude walk. Take some action. I bet you will feel stronger.
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