Time to Level Up

 

I feel like I’m a stranger in my cookie cutter life

What used to be a source of comfort now just brings me strife

I don’t belong in my old job; it bothers me no end

I can’t abide relationship with my “so called” best friend

My finance situation, just can’t continue on

I’m sick of being broke and bills persist when money’s gone

 

A wonderful epiphany just dropped into my soul

Discomfort is the signal sent to make what’s broken, whole

Allow my disappointments and my pains to point the way

To every stinking change I should have made, like, yesterday

Today’s the day I’ll inventory what I think I lack

Tomorrow, guaranteed, I’m getting my groove back

 

What are you bringing into this brand new year? Goals, hopes, and possibilities?  Disappointments, hurts, and regrets? Maybe it's natural to carry a little of both.

I wrote the poem, “Time to Level Up”  to capture the zeitgeist of today, and bring comfort to anyone who is still struggling with feelings of sadness. When so many people are feeling lonely, stuck in work they don’t enjoy, financially stretched, and generally in need of a life redesign. When I feel discontent with some aspect of my life, it’s such a comfort to remember that the seed of my deliverance lies within the very angst I’m wrestling with.

 

Discomfort holds the key to my deliverance.

 

It is the signal that my current situation is no longer acceptable. Sometimes something has been out of sync for some time before I feel (or admit) the true impact of that disconnect. Feeling the feelings of discomfort is a step forward from ignorance or denial. But, let's not stop there. The next level is deciding to make a change, to design a life that's a better fit for who I am and what I want.

 

Once I decide to make a change, that's when life gets more uncomfortable. Because manifestation takes a season of gestation to appear. How long is unknown until complete.

 

Setting goals and remaining in the realm of possibility can be excruciating because we are aware of what we long for, and acutely feeling the lack of it. To usher in the life of our dreams, go through the dark valley we must. Deciding to make a change in life conduces to a whole litany of follow up questions, especially "when?" and "how?", both of which can spark struggle and weight. Meanwhile the weight of waiting can make the heart sick.

 

"A hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when desire comes, it is a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

Proverbs 13:12 

 

If you're pressing to make improvements for a better life in the year ahead, take heart. I hope "Time to Level Up" will remind you that it's not you; its the process. That you have the power to decide what you do next. And that you can soothe your aching heart with poetry and a supportive community to press ahead together.

Join us on February 8 at 10:30 AM, when we will gather for Life Becomes Poetic Through Love: A Poetry Experience, at With Love Market & Cafe in Los Angeles (also broadcast on Instagram Live @sonyakayblakegallery). If you're interested in the topic of love (self-love, finding love, keeping love alive, and releasing attachments when love is not enough), then this is the community for you. You can register at sonyakayblakegallery.com and sign up for email updates as well.