One day we'll be gone

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My Papa had major beef with rap music.

Heavy swearing, frequent mentions of drugs and alcohol, and the lyrical decisions weren’t exactly his style. A cowboy at heart with a longstanding love for country classics, quiet weekends camping and fishing in the mountains, and good manners, it was unsurprising when he shared his dislike for rap and hip-hop.

I don’t remember why he told me this (nor was I willing to admit how much of a T-Pain super fan I was in high school; “Buy U A Drank” is pretty harmless though, right?), but what I’ve always carried with me is how he said something like: “What we listen to influences how we behave.”

Like all forms of consumption, what we absorb, we reflect, both subconsciously and consciously. Simultaneously, this is an effective, easy tool for grounding in what it means to live intentionally.

I’ve fallen into a fairly bland routine, for good reasons, but flavorless no less. On Tuesday, I took the afternoon off to force my mom to try bánh mì for the first time and to get a much-needed haircut, to break the monotony.

I was driving in a mindless haze when it came on. “Live & Let Go” by Quinn XCII and DISPATCH trickled through my speakers. I’d never heard it, but sometimes life (and algorithms, of course) knows what we need to hear. Within seconds, I turned the volume up and tuned in.

In particular, the lyrics jumped out at me.

10 words cut right through the noise of an ordinary Tuesday: “One day, we’ll be gone, so live and let go.”

I know that’s not a grand revelation. But it reminded me that time passes whether I’m feeling stuck in a dull routine or not. Sometimes, the right words find you at the right time, if you’re looking for them.

It reminded me of what my Papa said about music influencing our behavior. Sure, living intentionally requires some deeper inner work and reflection. But sometimes, the right lyric at the right moment is enough to slip through the noise of daily life and help us return to what matters when we don’t have endless hours to think about it.

There are quite a few songs that do this for me. So, I popped them into a Spotify playlist to share. I know the idea of knowing exactly how you want to spend your limited years (and then actually doing it) can feel overwhelming and exhausting. Sometimes, we don’t have the additional headspace to do deep heart work.

And sometimes, all you really need is for the right song to find you in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon.

If there’s a song you love that should be on this list, reply to this email, and I’ll add it!

Time well spent: weekly roundup

1. Sometimes I love social media for showing me content I might not have come across otherwise. Such is the case with Paula Rizzo’s heart-filled tribute to her late best friend, Nicole Feldman. Read, “What’s Your Legacy Work?” and check out Paula’s “What Would Nicole Do?” fundraiser in honor of Nicole for her birthday month (this month!).

2. Eric Doty shared a story in Superpath’s newsletter this week that made me sob and reiterated just how life-altering words really are, especially in life’s hardest moments. It’s a tough read, but a beautiful one I’ll be thinking about for a while. (P.S. If you work in content marketing, sign up for Superpath’s newsletter and check out the community!)

3. I enjoyed reading about Jillian Anthony’s low-key friendship experiments (pairs nicely with adult parallel play) in her recent story, “Errands instead of espresso martinis? Why low-key hangs are redefining friendship.”

Your next intentional move

• How might you honor a loved one no longer here while supporting causes that need attention?

• What’s your superpower, and how can you use it to create more good in the world?

• What are some low-key ways you can spend time with your circle?

Check out the full list of intentional prompts and share it with someone you love!

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I’m Alyssa Towns, and this is Time Intentional, a newsletter exploring what it means to spend our limited (and precious) time intentionally. Extend your love and support by sharing this newsletter with someone you know, or…

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