I’m the last person to adopt any kind of new technology. Ask anyone at my house and they’ll tell you the same thing, emphatically and without hesitation.
I held on to my push-button Tracfone much longer necessary, endlessly annoying my loved ones with the length of time it took me to tap out replies to texts. (By the time they got my answer, they’d forgotten what they asked me in the first place.)
I could care less about Blu-ray and Bluetooth (though I do have a certain fondness for blue jays).
No matter what the fancy store in a neighboring city says, apples are for eating, air is for breathing and pods grow on locust trees.
You get the idea. It’s not that I’m resistant to technology, exactly. I’m just content with what I have. Until someone gifts me with something better, and then I’m thankful for the upgrade.
Randy bought me wireless earbuds for Christmas. He researched them carefully, as he always does, and found some that runners seem to like.
These earbuds were fine, but they didn’t produce much bass unless I held them close into my ears. You can picture me running on the trail holding my hands to my ears if you like, or I can spare you the image and just say that would never work. Not for a balance-challenged runner like me, anyway.
Randy cares much more about sound quality than I do, so he was OK with trying a different brand. Soon after that, he brought home a square white box with apples on the sides—my very own set of Apple AirPods.
The upgrade was wonderful. Just last Friday, as I was jogging down the trail listening to my running playlist, I could barely keep my praise hands down. (I generally don’t care what people think, but again, I have to consider my balance.)
That particular playlist—an eclectic mix of upbeat tunes designed to spur me on when I just want to quit—is a huge reason I kept returning to the trail after my running partner went to college last fall.
I have different batch of music I listen to around the house. I created this playlist several months after my parents died in 2019, when Randy signed us all up for a Spotify Premium account.
It was comprised mostly of songs that comforted my soul during those sad and exhausting days that stretched into 2020. I called it the Press On Playlist, after the Selah song that my friend Susan sang at my mom’s funeral.
It didn’t take long for my family to tire of hearing this song played over and over in the kitchen. It was meaningful to me, though, so it stayed on the playlist.
Then one day, not too long ago, it seemed like it was time for a change. I had already added several songs that were more joy-filled and not so heavy on the comfort factor. I knew in my gut that “Press On” had served its purpose in my life and that I was ready for a new season of musical inspiration.
Now the playlist is called “The Song in My Soul,” after the duet sung by Hollyn and Phil Wickham.
The new name—and edited content—fits the season of life I now find myself in, two years after my parents’ deaths. I still need to press on in many areas of my life, of course, but I’m not quite as weighed down by grief and loss anymore.
The updated playlist matches my heart—it just feels lighter, freer … better.
As I write this, I wonder. Do you need to update your sources of encouragement? Is it time to move on from a few blog subscriptions, music lists, podcasts, Instagram influencers or email newsletters that are no longer feeding your soul, for whatever reason?
Maybe, during a season of sickness, stress, sadness or fear, you signed up for regular inspiration or information from people who spoke directly to your heart, in ways that you found incredibly helpful. You don’t have to stay connected to those voices forever, however—even if it seems like everyone else in the world is still tuning in.
Their content might still be useful and based on solid truth, or maybe they have veered into territory you’re just not comfortable with. Either way, it might not be what you need to fill your head with anymore.
The beautiful thing is, you get to decide about this, just like I got to decide about my Spotify playlist. If your gut tells you it’s time to make a change, it’s probably time to make a change.
If that’s where you find yourself today, take a few minutes and update your own “playlists.” Life’s too short to spend your days listening to voices you no longer need to hear.
♥ Lois
You don’t have to stay connected to voices you no longer need to hear—even if it seems like everyone else in the world is still tuning in. Click To Tweet Life’s too short to spend your days listening to voices you no longer need to hear. Click To TweetP.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee, Inspire Me Monday, #HeartEncouragement and Grace & Truth.
Photo by Mona Jain on Unsplash
29 comments
I’ve been making a few changes myself recently. It feels very freeing so far!
I bought myself a set of AirPods about two months ago and I can’t believe how much I LOVE them! I didn’t expect to enjoy this them much. 🙂
I know what you mean about the AirPods, Lisa. I’m not usually big into trendy name brands, but in this case, Apple definitely wins out! Hugs, friend.
You made me laugh with your technology ‘tude 😆. My hubby is like your hubby about sound. AirPods just barely stay in my ears, so I only wear them where I can’t lose them (one did fall into the skillet on the store once). I rarely listen to music, but last night whilst driving I discovered some of my Apple tunes have karaoke-style lyrics scrolling along. It was fun to sing along and a lot more meaningful when I could read the words. You’re right. We need to change with the seasons 😊.
Oh no, Anita … dropping an AirPod into the skillet sounds like something that would happen to me! I’m glad you had fun singing along to Apple tunes, karaoke-style. 🙂
Such helpful encouragement- there are probably a few songs that don’t need to be on repeat for me these days, but I’ve felt guilty about moving on. I’m wondering- do you have playlists for specific writing projects?
Actually, I do! (Surprised? Probably not.) 🙂 I wrote both my books to the Life is Beautiful soundtrack. Best movie soundtrack ever … although I’m sure there are John Williams fans out there (and in my house) who might not agree! I actually wore out one CD and had to get another one. I’ve looked for it on Spotify but can’t find it. For my current project, it’s Carrie Underwood’s “My Savior” hymns album. It has words, which used to distract me, but it’s so peaceful and soothing and just fits with what I’m writing. How about you?
Laurie, I can see why you and Bill don’t listen to music when you run together … earbuds are kind of isolating, which defeats the purpose of running with someone else, right? But having loud music in the house when cleaning? Yes, please!
Thank you, Lois, such words of truth, I tend to get stuck listening to the same voices; just the other day I realized my playlist simply replayed bad memories dragging me into grief. Sometimes a new playlist feeds our soul with strength we didn’t know we were ready for. Thank you dear friend for the great advice!!!
Aw, Donna … I’m sorry your playlist was making you relive bad memories. I’m not a huge fan of change but sometimes it’s necessary, isn’t it? I agree that changing things up can give us “strength we didn’t even know we were ready for.” That’s a great way to put it! Hugs, friend.
Lois, you are so right. We need to change our playlist sometimes as we move through life. We move on from that season and into a new. I too, tend to hang on to technology and items that still work. And then I get something new, and wonder why I didn’t get it before.
Haha, Theresa … I think I’m that way with more things than technology! But periodic change-ups—of whatever it is—do us good, I think. Hugs, friend.
I just love this piece, Lois! After a long season of stuffiness and isolation, our souls are longing for deep truth, breaths of fresh air, and food for our souls.
I periodically weed out blogs I’ve held on to for too long … hoping that the author would return or that a relationship would spring up or that something would connect once again. We only have so much time and energy to go around … may it be profitable, may it bless us spiritually, may we offer relationship and encouragement to those God brings onto our paths.
I agree 100 percent, Linda. I do something similar with email newsletters and Instagram—periodically go through the list of people I follow or receive content from and ask if I really need it anymore, or even remember why I signed up in the first place! I’m much more likely to stick with people that I’ve connected with elsewhere-either in person or through blogging. By the way, I love how relational you are with blogging … I’ve learned so much from the way you interact with the people who visit your blog and also they way that you so faithfully encourage others at their blogs.
I agree, we need different playlists at different times. There are certain songs I used to listen to all the time but then I moved on and they didn’t seem quite as relevant. I recently listened again to some songs I hadn’t played for at least a few years and it was interesting to hear them again and brought back a lot of memories. I think I very strongly associate certain songs with certain circumstances in life.
I like the idea of stopping to consider the other things we “listen to” as well and thinking about whether there’s anything we should leave behind.
Lesley, I am the same way when it comes to associating certain songs with certain circumstances in life—some pretty powerful memories are tied to songs for me, as I’m guessing they are for you too. 🙂
Lois, it is amazing how music plays such a vital role in our lives, but I have yet to use Spotify. It always amazes me how music ministers to my soul each and every day. Thank you for sharing the songs as I had not ever heard either until just now. They are both beautiful and may be on repeat today 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed the songs, Joanne. I feel the same way about music—before we had Spotify, I always had a CD or multiple CDs going in the stereo. Hugs, friend.
Lois, first, I love that your husband got each of you a Spotify premium account! What a thoughtful thing to do! Second, you’re so right. There are seasons . . . including seasons when we need certain voices, and seasons where we need to let them go. It’s good to pray for God’s discernment about what He knows we need most. Thanks for this reminder, friend!
Jeanne, I wonder if we really did this—pray for God to direct us to the sources of encouragement that we need for a particular season—how our overall outlook on life would change? I know there are voices that actually bring me down, or maybe just provide a distraction, that aren’t helpful—at certain times or all the time. I guess it’s another area of life where intentionality is good. And not terribly difficult to apply, either. Thanks for adding this perspective, my friend.
Lois, I like to picture you running down the trail with your praise hands raised. 🙂 we do have a playlist that accompanies our lives, don’t we? I never thought about that before reading your post. I am glad to read that a more joyful playlist fits your life now. We don’t listen to music when we run together, but Bill and I find that when it is time to clean the house, we need upbeat music in the background to help us get through our most disliked chore.
Laurie, I can see why you and Bill don’t listen to music when you run together … earbuds are kind of isolating, which defeats the purpose of running with someone else, right? But playing upbeat music in the house when cleaning? Yes, please!
I have a Spotify account, but mainly only because when I click on some people’s links to music, it goes to Spotify, and they seem to require an account to listen. But I don’t think I have created any playlists there. I have with Pandora! But I hardly ever listen to them. I do have playlists on my phone of music we bought over the years (before streaming was optional). One is general Christian music. One is instrumental–some days I just want the music, even though the tunes will bring the words to mind. One is specifically for anxiety.
You bring up a good point that I rarely see addressed. There are so many good sources today, of books, blogs, podcasts, videos, etc. I’d like to follow more than I do. But sometimes i need quiet, or sometimes the person’s main message isn’t one I need any more. I was just thinking this morning of one author I follow on Twitter whose main message seems to be comforting people going through hard times. We all need that sometimes–but we don’t need it all the time.
Barbara, I know what you mean about quiet or instrumental music … I find that helpful when I am writing, especially. And I have a feeling you and I could have nice long conversation about the content we cram in our heads and how to know when it’s time to move from a certain voice. It’s almost as if certain influencers try to foster dependency in their followers by continually talking about the same issues and struggles. I may be totally wrong about it, but this is just the impression I get sometimes. Anyway, I appreciate your thoughts as always and hope you have a wonderful weekend!
I guess I’m late to the party. I only recently started using Spotify, and I’ve only one playlist so far. I’m not even sure how I managed to find the one I got, but I keep listening because I’ve not got around to finding a new one yet!
Haha … I hear you, Jerralea! I am always asking my girls for help with Spotify … in fact, I think my daughter was the one who started my playlist in the first place (and showed me how to add songs to it). Good to hear from you this week!
I love this! So true. Life is a journey. Moving on from something that served us well in the past is not devaluing it, but allowing us to continue to grow and experience.
I totally agree, Lynn. To everything there is a season applies here, doesn’t it? 🙂
I feel so much solidarity with your grumpy acquiescence to technology’s presence in your life. I am being more mindful of my reading/listening life as well. However, I confess that I’ve yet to master the Spotify playlist. Guess I need to get one of my sons to tutor me…
Haha, Michele … where we be without our technologically astute children. 🙂 If it weren’t for my girls, I would be helplessly inept at everything related to Spotify (not to mention my iPhone)!