I know how the song got there this time … the one that got stuck in my brain. My friend, Carla, told me that she and her family were going to hang out with fellow Parrotheads over the holiday week-end at a Jimmy Buffett concert. And, through the power of suggestion, a favorite Jimmy Buffett song played on continuous loop in my head.
"It's these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes. Nothing remains quite the same with all of our running and all of our cunning. If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane."
One song led to another, and before I realized it, I had spent the better part of Memorial Day morning listening to Jimmy Buffett songs on my iPod while "catching up on a little work." I failed miserably at convincing myself that listening to Jimmy Buffett sing on in his famous gulf and western style would make it seem more like a Holiday. It was time for Plan B. It was time to seize the afternoon. It was time to get on my bike, catch up on some pool time, and play in the dirt. And, what a wonderful Holiday it turned out to be, once I got into a Buffett state of mind.
What is it about Jimmy Buffett? Jimmy Buffett and his music have affected millions of people around the world. His work spans generations and genres — he has been performing for over 40 years. "Is Buffet's music just a good time, or is there more going on?" Erin McKenna and Scott L. Pratt ask in their book, Jimmy Buffett and Philosophy … the Porpoise Driven Life. His songs cause us to reflect on the rhythm of our own life and experiences. Buffett not only writes and performs his own music, he also reflects on his music and its meaning in his autobiography, A Pirate Looks at Fifty.
In the midst of the everyday go to work and make ends meet, many of us need to become better at kicking back and just taking a little time out, for relaxing and reflection. Isn't that, after all, what summer is all about? So, go for it! It's time for your best summer yet!
"Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see." Jimmy Buffett
And now, for your coaching challenge, should you choose to accept it.
What are your favorite ways of unplugging and disengaging from the demands of work and daily living? What can you do to fully enjoy some changes in latitude and changes in attitude this summer?
