In her memoir, Briefly Perfectly Human*, Alua Arthur describes the concept of “feeling fully used up” by the time she reaches her deathbed. I’ve clung to this idea since I read it. I love thinking about being here for a limited time with a bundle of energy I can pour into the world, my community, and most importantly, the people around me.
And now I look for it everywhere, too. When I see it, I imagine this glittering outpouring, radiating with a shimmering glow and an incomprehensible magic that’s impossible to replicate.
When my husband ran a sub-3-hour marathon earlier this year (something that, globally, only around 0.0007% to 0.0008% of people do each year), I explained Alua Arthur’s concept to him. I told him he exemplifies it in ways I both admire and envy. He tells me this is his proudest physical achievement, one that required significant time, intention, and the willingness to leave it all out on the course.
I caught another glimpse of this concept on social media this week, and I’ve watched it repeatedly over the past couple of days because I can feel the magic beaming through my screen.
Cienna is a professional dancer and mgk superfan who went viral after performing a daily dance challenge set to the choreography from the “cliché” music video as she counted down to seeing him in concert. The videos say, “Doing this dance everyday until mgk asks me to dance with him.”
Cienna’s videos caught mgk’s attention, and during his show at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain — the show Cienna attended — the artist invited her on stage to do the choreography alongside him.
It’s an absolutely electric moment I can’t stop watching. She radiates in an addicting way, and I love it when artists recognize and acknowledge their fan base. Reading through comments on videos of her on stage, I noticed that many people also see her glow, are ecstatic to see her get the moment she worked hard for, and are bearing witness to the idea of tapping into the energy deep within.
It’s another moment rewarded by a time investment, intention, and a desire to bring a dream to life.
I don’t know what a moment like this, one laced with using up every ounce of energy and pouring it out, looks like in my life (yet). Certainly, I’ve experienced my fair share of magic and once-in-a-lifetime memories, but nothing comes to mind when I think about it from an energy-pouring sense.
But in the meantime, I’ll keep looking for these moments and letting people know that I see their magic and how they’re using up and sharing their energy when I get the chance.
And I’ll keep asking: What kind of moments will allow me to pour every ounce of positive energy out of this body in this lifetime? And how do I find and create more of them?
How will you use up all of yours?
The Imperfectionist: Reality just keeps unfolding by Oliver Burkeman
We realize that the sun rises each morning without worrying whether it will run out of energy, because it knows it is the source, and it knows it is never ending. As long as there is life, there is energy. It’s up to us to invest it in what matters.
I’m Alyssa Towns, and this is TIME INTENTIONAL, a newsletter exploring what it means to spend our limited (and precious) time intentionally in honor of Janet, Dale, and John.
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