The Day I Received a Powerful Healing Message from Bono
Nearly every weekday morning, I get up between 5:30 and 6:00, drink a glass of water, and leave the bedroom with my dog, Wallie.
We come outside and I make a coffee while Wallie goes to my husband (who’s been up way earlier than we do). They share their stories of how the night has been for them.
Then, I go out to the balcony to get some sunlight in my eyes (depending on the time of the year), and I am fueled with the energy to conquer the new day.
After that, I would either sit down to dream journal or morning pages, but if the muse is not present, I meditate.
It’s been mostly, more or less, like this for the past six years since we got Wallie.
But there are exceptions.
Things like the unavoidable hiccups of problematic times, such as being lost in the perpetual burnout wormhole (now) or the heated mid-year in Japan’s lousy summertime full of insects and noisy minmin cicadas (also now).
Here, the rhythm of my morning takes on a different vibe.
It’ll look something like me coming out of the bedroom, then picking up the phone and doomed-scrolling aimlessly on it. This means I passively give up on the responsibility of making the time each day to do my best work.
Then, it wouldn’t take long for my opted-for-personal-growth system to strike because of this soul-deflating absence of my morning ritual. And it will let me know when my anxiety downwardly spirals out of control by the disruption of my mental and physical well-being.
Which can look like;
Chronic Fatigue and Exhaustion: I feel tired all the time, even after a full night’s sleep. Nothing will fuel me, and I have zero energy and enthusiasm for the coming day.
Difficulty Concentrating: Can’t seem to concentrate and easily distracted- like, all the time! No shit gets done. Impossible.
Binging rampage of all kinds: I overeat, mostly junk, and other binge things that I can ‘stuff in’ to fill the insecurity void: TV, shopping (lurking on Instagram also counts), wine.
Mental effects: Irritability and mood swings, cynicism and detachment (to everything), self-loathing, apathy, and repeat.
Physical effects: anything that can go wrong in the stomach and on the skin, will go wrong.
Two weeks’ time would be enough to have me going bonkers. I would fall face-down on the ground, depleted, and burn to ashes before I knew it was timeto pick up my pieces and rise again.
Usually, there’ll be a sign.
Same as this time.
On one sunny day at dawn, a message came subtly through the warm morning breeze — a message from Bono. Yes, the lead singer of the legendary rock band — U2.
You’ve got to get yourself together
You’ve got stuck in a moment
And now you can’t get out of it
Don’t say that later will be better
Now you’re stuck in a moment
And you can’t get out of it
My eyes welled with tears. That’s how much I love and miss this song.
I took the headphones out and put the song on — so loud, and had a lip-sync mini concert in the morning sun on our balcony and felt grateful. I was well and still breathing, and I was able to listen to this song again, feeling the warm, intense rapture throughout my body again.
I felt alive.
Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of is one of my go-to songs that’s guaranteed to save me when I’m in doubt about life or find myself in a stinky deep rut. It’s been my loyal and helpful shrink for me from my twenties until now (forties).
I am forever grateful to U2 for producing a song that can magically revive a depleted soul and rekindle dead hopes from the pit of despair.
Listen to it. Read the lyrics. It’s that powerful.
I’m also grateful for my ability to feel joy in such a simple thing, but it can have a significant positive impact. Who would have thought? A song. An oldie.
Does the song have the same impact on you as it does on me, or what other songs work the same magic for you?
Find those songs, make a playlist, and return to them when your way should falter on the stony paths.
And remember,
It’s just a moment, this time will pass.
Thank you for spending time with me today.
