Switchfoot lyrics.
Just the other day I was driving home from a yoga class and Switchfoot’s song “this is your life” came on the radio. Out of being a real fan, I turned up the volume loud enough so I couldn’t hear myself sing, but only the boys. During my enjoyment, the significance of the lyrics popped out to me “This is your life. Are you who you want to be?”
I’ve been learning about Jewish feasts this fall, something so fascinating, but until recently I knew very little of, and this past week I was studying The Feast of Tabernacles. In this holiday, Jews build temporary housing that they live in for a week. As with every detail of Jewish feasts, the housing is rich with symbolism. The temporal nature of the home symbolizes, one: that they Jews traveled in temporary housing throughout the desert they would build, tear down, and resurrect at each location and sometimes daily. And also the temporal nature of our individual lives. Our lives are but a brief moment in history.
It’s a notion we all know inherently, a notion yogis teach everywhere and so I’ve heard over and over again, and yet one we forget easily and drop from our minds. Be present, because we are not promised another day. Yet many of us are dreaming of tomorrow, what we will do, who we will see, what money we will have, what we will do when we have our degree, what we will do when we are married, even what will be for dinner or what we want to buy at our favorite store. I don’t want to imply that this is a thought that should be crippling and at the forfront of your mind with ever breath you take. But, I think there is a lot of importance in realizing that we have this moment right here. We do, that’s a fact. And asking yourself the question “This is my life. Am I who I want to be?” Is a great question. Because, you may not get infinite chances to be that woman or man, friend and partner.
I heard this morning the famous phrase “Where ever you are, be all there.” If maybe some thoughts and ideas of who you would like to be struck you, begin now. Be all here. Go be with your family, your friends, those around you or in need, with God, or with yourself for some reflection and care. You have this moment. Are you who you want to be?
