Carrie Underwood sings the truth.
Now, I'm not the biggest country music fan by any means,* but that doesn't mean I can't recognize a beautiful song when I hear it.
For those of you who haven't heard this song: 1. Youtube this stuff: "Carrie Underwood So Small." and 2. Read the following words of the refrain:
Cuz' sometimes
that mountain you've been climbin'
is just a grain of sand...
And what you've
been out there
searchin' for forever
is in your hand
And when you figure out
love is all that matters after all
it sure makes everything else
seem so
small.
For me, this song speaks to everyone who has had a struggle of any kind, and is a reminder that whatever it is, it too, will pass. It's easy to feel overwhelmed with everything we go through each day. But really, "when you're sittin' around thinkin' 'bout what you can't change, and worrying 'bout all the wrong things, time's flyin' by...movin' so fast...better make it count cuz' you can't get it back..." We have to recognize how this part of life is just a part of the bigger picture. This "angst" associated with the college years: it's just one corner of the painting.
It's really hard when we can't see what the painting is going to look like, and we're grabbing at all these different paint brushes to try and fill in what we don't know: where we'll be after college, who we'll be with, what jobs we'll have, where exactly we'll be living, or who our friends will be.
The thing is, we can't force the painting. It just has to happen when we're ready. Someday, we'll be able to see at least what the main picture is; but is that painting ever really complete? Aren't our lives always changing, molding, being re-sketched, re-worked, painted over after we've made a mistake? Doesn't that painting turn out differently than what we imagined it would look like?
So when you're wondering if you're going to survive this week of all the homework you have, or feeling bad about friends, family, or whatever, or even when you're feeling on top of the world, and you're hoping that feeling lasts forever: remember how small this stuff will be in just a few years.
Remember that you will see your picture someday, even if you can't right now. For now, just keep living, keep enjoying each day of your youth--
and keep on painting.
*I'm definitely NOT knocking country music, you fans out there. :)
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