Learning To Live Fully Alive

Last month, during my stay in Denver, I saw a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater, one of the most incredible venues in America. 

The photo below is from the concert and shows the incredible beauty of this natural amphitheater high above the city in the beautiful Red Rocks Park suburb of Morrison, CO. 

The artist I went to see that night was the Avett Brothers, an alt-country duo I have been listening to for years but have never seen live. 

The evening weather was perfect for the concert—clear, cool, and marked by a fantastic sunset. And the Avett Brothers were terrific.  

I have come to truly appreciate one of the Avett Brothers' recorded songs, but hearing it live took my appreciation to a whole new level. The song "No Hard Feelings" reflects on a life spent seeking peace and unity despite all the challenges that seek to destroy both.  

Here are the lyrics that really speak to me: 

When my body won't hold me anymore

And it finally lets me free

Where will I go?

Will the trade winds take me south through Georgia grain?

Or tropical rain?

Or snow from the heavens?

Will I join with the ocean blue?

Or run into a savior true?

And shake hands laughing

And walk through the night, straight to the light

Holding the love I've known in my life

And no hard feelings... 

None of us know exactly what happens to us when we die.  Any idea we have is pure speculation, or to put it another way, our best guess.  

I trust that there is so much more on the other side of the reality we experience in this life, and I also firmly believe that whatever that looks like is beautiful beyond our imagination.  

Which is why I love the lyrics of this song so much.  

The singer's musings hint at the unknown, but each scenario he imagines of the afterlife is filled with beauty and peace without a hint of regret. 

The song actually ends with these words being softly sung over and again: 

"I have no enemies." 

I love this refrain.  It speaks to forgiveness, letting go of hurts, embracing love, and giving oneself over to the serenity that comes from losing ourselves to find ourselves.  

I listened to this song quite a few times during my long hours behind the wheel last month and understood a few things that need to be shared. 

The first revelation comes as a question because that's how it came to me as I reflected on all this:  "When I come to the end of my life, can I say that I didn't just live, but that I was truly alive?"

This is a question I have been pondering a lot lately, especially while I was traveling alone across the country for the past several weeks.  

What does it mean to live fully alive all the time, no matter what we are doing or where we find ourselves? It has much to do with finding peace that frees us from regret and bitterness.  

This leads me to the second revelation, which is just as important as the first: Be intentional. 

The late Thich Nhat Hanh once wrote: 

Every twenty-four-hour day is a tremendous gift to us.  So we all should learn to live in a way that makes joy and happiness possible.  

For Hanh, this meant beginning each day by being mindful of his breathing, acknowledging each breath, and reminding himself that he was given the gift of a new day and that he had to live in it.  In other words, he was intentional about living fully. 

I've come to believe that the fulfillment of this intentionality is different for each of us.  

For some, it means intentionally spending time outside each day to take in what nature offers through inspiration, peace, and joy.  For others, it is spending time with loved ones and friends in life-giving and meaningful ways.  

For others, it might mean solitude and silence, reading, writing, and creating art, which feeds the mind, body, and soul. 

I  suppose, for my part, I tend to want to employ all of these ways of being intentional, but my opponent in making it happen always seems to be time.  This leads me to the last revelation: We make time for what's most important. 

This can go both ways.  If we feel that all of our time is taken up by actions and reactions to busyness, stress, bitterness, anger, conflict, deadlines, and the like, then we have to admit to ourselves those are the things we prioritize over our own peace. 

I am shifting my thinking and priorities toward more life-giving ways of being. 

I'm learning that when I prioritize living fully in the things that are truly important to me (connection with others, time with my kids, creativity, being in nature, silence, and solitude), all of the demands on my time tend to become much easier to handle.

And all of this leads to a more regret-free, conflict-free, and spiritually-free way to live fully. 

May we all find ways to seek the kind of peace that comes from the Spirit to set us free toward becoming the people God longs for us to be.  

And may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forever. Amen.