Actually only half of the title is important for me, and no, it's not football.
I don't mean to be anti things just because they are popular and the masses follow them, but a little devil inside of me tends to loose rapid interest once it reaches such over spun proportions.
As a child of 10, staying up till 4am to watch the FA cup finals was not only exciting, it felt like something rather special too. Today, being 1 amongst 2 billion worldwide kind of narrows that sense of something special and unique.
For many, that will make me an exceptionally boring companion during these intense times, but I can show a simulacrum of interest if required in social situations. It's the polite thing to do, isn't it?
What I do love however, are these gorgeous summer days, not because they are popular, but because they are just irresistible. Possibly also because they are rarer than I would like. I love these long summer evenings that invite a mixture of activity, relaxation, conversations and quiet sleepy reflection.
But getting back to that anti thing. It could easily be argued that it is a latent slip into childish rebellion. Go against the flow, test boundaries... and maybe there is something in it. But how many of us need to test these boundaries a little more? Look deeper into the heart and soul to find what really makes the heart beat a little faster.
There are a few in life that really know how to live their life to a different drum-beat. To become trendsetters in their own world. Leaders that more often than not, don't recognise they are seen this way because they are too busy listening to their own heart, their own soul. How many of us truly feel internally aligned with our own journey and truth?
Sure we are social creatures, desiring social contact and interaction, even the seriously non-meaningful kind found around a football game. It sings to our need to belong. To be apart of a collective. To feel the power of community. Which is powerful stuff while it lasts.
And it is all too easy to be a follower. Everyone is a follower in one or more areas of their lives, but how do we really want to show up in the world? In those quiet still hours when no one else is around, who do we want to be for ourselves?
I'm writing this as I sit on our little balcony, feeling a gentle breeze and listening to crowds spontaneously cheer from a shared collective space.
Cheers and here's to summer!!
