Taking the first step

We often know exactly what needs to be done but for various reasons find ways to try and get around doing it.

But eventually we find ourselves back where we started knowing that all we need to do is take the first step.

It might feel like the most terrifying the world. You might end up so anxious that the voice in your head is telling you ‘don’t do it, stick with what you know’.

All you can really do is ignore that voice because as soon as you take that first step you realise there was no truth to the thoughts of your anxious mind.

There’s that Chinese proverb that goes something like, ‘the longest journey starts with a single step’

And where better to start than step one.

A pep in your step and a smile on your face

That was me after bumping into a good friend on the way to work. A morning catch up talking about the work we do, how we spend our free time and the need for stimulation.

Things have changed in the 7 years this person and I have been friends. We’ve grown and so have our conversations. We’re not as silly as we were at 17 but even in our 20s we’re still growing up.

And I feel lucky that we get to do it together.

All you need

And maybe all you need to do is take a deep breath and let go. You have the opportunity to take control of the way you want to feel even though you may not realise it.

It’s often only when you decide that you want something more or something different that you become aware of what is available to you.

Suddenly you find that ‘all of us are here, awaiting you’ and the love, support or kindness is almost overwhelming.

And I’m sharing these words as someone who has experienced them.

The importance of a helping hand

With age I’ve come to understand the importance of a helping hand. I think it was the words ‘everybody needs a hand to hold, to pick you up when you fall’ from the song If you lean on me by California Dreams.

The song was about being there to support the person you care about. To some it may have just been cheesy 90s pop (California Dreams was a fictional band from a tv show) but to me it really meant something.

It’s important to vocalise to people that you’re there if they need you. Lending a helping hand can be as small as holding the door for someone carrying a box, giving someone back something they’ve dropped or checking in with someone because you care not just because they’re going through something.

It’s really just about extending kindness to me and having that awareness that we all have things going on in our lives.

Music and feelings

Whilst listening to the songs, I also read the comments.

This music was making people feel something and bringing them joy. It’s nice to think about how this singer is capable of doing that to people he’s never met, the majority of which he will never meet.

I even found myself smiling, feeling inspired even. I felt like writing. I sat listening to the words and feeling the music. One song in particular that stood out to me had the words ‘We’re just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me’.

The music evoked a sense of longing and nostalgia.

Inspired by: Grace Jones

Grace Jones is amazing.

She’s a creative pioneer who many famous people have been heavily influenced by, often unbeknownst to their fans (and sometimes even the people themselves).

She’s Jamaican which is where my family are from, and she’s been a model, singer and even an actress.

Grace has always had this distinctive masculine whilst still being feminine and I adore it. I admire Graces freedom and self-expression because those are things I want at the forefront of how I live my live.

‘Those who demand that you conform the most to how they live are the ones who are the most scared and intimidated by life’

-GRACE JONES