Don't Wait Until the End

Last week I was sitting at the piano with a young person I’ve known for a very long time. He often hits me with insane wisdom and I immediately feel like the student in the room. This person is eight years old.

We were discussing hand position and of course, doing our many secret handshakes. After 15 months of none, we are determined to fill our quota!

He stopped and stared at the back of his hands. He said, “Why don’t we pay more attention to the back of our hands? Why does the other side of the hand get all the credit?”

I echoed back to him that what he said made a lot of sense. Especially in piano, we are constantly considering the finger pads and the part of the hand that connects with the keys. Not so much, the back of our hands.

He then went on in what can only be described as a channeling moment.

He said, “Our body doesn’t get as much credit as it should. Did you know it supports us all day in every part of our life?”

He said, “The only time people pay attention to their body is when they’re injured and they’re afraid they’re going to die.”

It hung in the air.

It hung in the air like the straight up truth that it was.

I teared up, looked directly into his eyes and said “You blow me away. Keep that part of yourself. Do you know how many adults need to hear that?”

He responded, “Well, it’s true! People get scared they might die and then they pay attention to it. The brain gets all the credit. People should pay more attention to their bodies.”

He then carried on to playing his scales and his piece, Arch Illager. This is his song he chose from Minecraft - another thing he has lots to teach me about!

He carried on like kids do. Totally present and totally oblivious to the weight of his observation.

To him it was just fact and just obvious. To many adults, while it may be fact and may be obvious, it’s definitely not practiced.

“The only time people pay attention to their body is when they’re injured and they’re afraid they’re going to die.”

Not only is that sentence infused with truth, it sears the truth.

It cuts right to the heart of the issue. Following up with the brain’s hierarchy above the body stacked even more wisdom on top.

He’s right.

Why is it that the brain gets all of the credit? Why is it that most people only give attention to their bodies when something goes terribly wrong?

Why do most people need a terrifying mortality driven wake-up call?

What would it be like to take good care of our bodies, the houses of our souls, in loving gratitude rather than fearful response?

That day at the piano I received a lesson in life, a lesson of embodiment, a lesson of speaking truth and a recurring lesson I get to witness and receive over and over in our spaces we co-create: the innate wisdom of kids.

The biggest lesson I received loud and clear was: Don’t Wait Until the End.

And I don’t just mean with the body.

Compared to the general population, I am an outlier when it comes to paying attention to and caring for my body.

This was a pendulum swing from my younger self who drowned herself in vodka, almost died in a car accident at 16 (didn’t slow me down at the time) and witnessing painful Alztheimer’s in my family.

One of my favorite questions to both my students and to myself is, “What does it feel like?” And then, the courageous part, to follow and trust the feeling.

Nutrition, exercising, meditation, yoga, intuition, creativity - that all is a result of reverence and attention to my body. And not just my body, my whole life.

This was developed over years and instead of letting my mind run the show, I’ve learned for myself and my internal world how to align my body, mind and spirit to work together.

They are my dream team. My body, mind and spirit work together to uphold the ecosystem of Adrienne land.

I don’t wait until the end because I’ve seen the end. I choose to feel good now, live now and honor my body now through the embodiment of my values.

I’ve already knocked on death’s door and I could walk through that door tomorrow.

Why would I not have reverence for each bone in my body and moment of each day? Why would I not go all in with the one life I’ve got?

As I drove home that day from my lesson, I couldn’t help but expand the words of my student to the context of a whole life.

So many people don’t pay attention to their lives until they think they’re going to die. So many people go through the motions. So many people follow the status quo and don’t explore what they actually might want and what they even care about.

Even worse - many people do know what they care about and never do it.

This is one of the greatest tragedies I witness. A life unlived.

Every day people lay in hospital beds with regrets as they face their death. They wish they had said that thing to the person they loved, they wish they had gone for that dream, they wish they had made the most of every moment they had.

Today I say, don’t let that be you.

Do not wait until the end. Do not wait until you think you might die to think about how you live your life, how you honor your body, your mind, your heart and your soul.

Do not wait until the end.

Do it, today.

Begin now.

Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

The present moment is all we’ve got!!

When you’re at the end of your life, will you look back and rest easy knowing you fully lived?

Thank you to my powerful student for this reminder.

Do not wait until the end.

Now go! You’ve got a life to live!!

If you'd like to fully live the one life you've got, it's my purpose on this planet to provide access points for you to do just that. Here are my current vehicles for accessing yourself and your truest life:

FriYAY Yoga - Each and every Friday at 12pm CDT I do a group yoga class via zoom. This week's theme for 6/18 is "Practice to Remember". Click here for the details and to register.

Halftime Pulse Check: A Free Masterclass - 6/22 at 7pm CDT

June marks halfway through the calendar year and I'm here for a PULSE CHECK. Are your dreams alive? Or dead? You will leave this class with reignited dreams, revived goals and tangible tools to use and embody to actually do it this time.

Click here for details and to register! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

30 Day Meditation Experience - Begins July 1st. Details coming soon!

1:1 Offerings:

I currently offer 1:1 private Mindful Music piano lessons, yoga and conscious creation coaching. These are high touch mentorship experiences with me and spaces are limited. Reach out to me here if you're interested and we'll go from there!

Don't Wait Until the End.

In love, potential and lives fully lived,

⭐️  Adrienne