Give My Best Today.

I really like that old REM song ‘Diminished’ off the album Up. It’s a mellow song off an equally mellow album. I don’t care much for the lyrics as a whole, but the refrain always seems to get stuck in my head:

I will give my best today
I will give myself away
I have never hurt anything
Is the jury wavering?
Do they know I sing?

The  line ‘I will give my best today. . . I will give myself away’ is the part that always gets stuck in my head- like a haunting reminder to make each day count, to not waste any opportunity. And how do we make each day count? The next line is equally as powerful. By giving ourselves away. By being selfless. By giving. By sharing. By making it not about me, but other people. In the end, that’s the important part. When it’s less about ME and more about others the day seems so much more purposeful and meaningful. The day gets a healthy injection of purpose when you give to others.

That’s why I don’t mind when old songs like this still have a way of getting stuck in my head. They contain little nuggets of wisdom. And when that wisdom is wrapped in a catchy tune, well, I’m singing good reminders to myself all day long.