Soundtrack of my Life – Entry 37 – Do It Again – Sheryl Crow – D.A. Henneman

I’ve always loved Sheryl Crow and had forgotten just how much until I came across her account on TikTok. Like many artists, she is using the platform to mention she has new songs to check out and, in her case, that she will be going on tour this year. Fingers crossed I can make it to one of her concerts, I would love to see her!

While I could have picked any one of her songs for my Soundtrack, this one, which is being released at a time of her life when she seems to be doing a great deal of soul searching, spoke to me in a way that I can completely relate to at my age. It was the chorus that cinched it for me:

“All I know is wherever I go
There I am
All I know is I’m doing
The best that I can,

There’s so much I don’t know, so I learned to let go
Let go and let love in,
Every day, I get up and I do it again.
Every day, I let go and I let love in.“

— Sheryl Crow – Do It Again, 2024

For me, the first verse speaks about the journey and the fact that no matter how fast or hard you run, you will always be right there with yourself. I’ve learned the hard way that the relationship I have with myself is the most important of my lifetime, and while I didn’t completely neglect myself, I did allow my emotional well to dry up. Then when life threw some stuff at me from not just one but three directions, I just didn’t have anything left to draw from. I entered survival mode and let me tell you, I have never been so glad to be out of a phase in my life. While shutting down and pulling back did have some benefits, it set me back several months. I am still living with the effects. Managing my mindset is something I continue to work on every day.

The second verse tells me that no matter how alone I feel in all of it, there are others crossing the exact bridge I’m on. It helps to know I’m not alone, and that I can draw from the experiences of others. That was the first thing I did when things went sideways, I looked to my resources. I listened to the podcasts that inspire me like, Creative Penn, the Quitcast for Writers by Becca Syme, and the Wish I’d Known Then Podcast, and the Mel Robbins Podcast. I watched movies, read books, and most importantly, spent time with my family and friends. I treated myself to spa days and quiet time, something I still include in my work week.

While I limited social media (I have cut way back), I did take time to read the posts that confirmed that my writer friends were all going through the same struggles I am. I have found other writers also struggle with finding time to write or attracting the right audience to read the words they work so hard on. There are those, like me, who eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and feel like quitting when given a one-star review or when faced with no sales for 3 months. Knowing others share my situation has helped tremendously. Knowing that for every reader who leaves a one-star review, there is one that will leave it a five, keeps me crossing the bridge and challenging myself to get better with every step I take.

For me, Sheryl’s lyrics always tell a story, and the chorus in this song cuts to the chase. If I had to sum up my journey over the last few years in a couple of paragraphs, the above quote slide would about do it. I’ve made it clear of late I am coming out of a pretty bad bout of burnout. While my network of support has been there for me, there has also been a TON of soul searching along the way by way of actively culling things (and people) that no longer serve me, and learning to “let go and let love in.” This line for me applies mainly to forgiveness, a process I started before my father’s passing, but also to the healing that takes place when you lighten your load by dumping some of the baggage you’ve been carrying. I’m packing much lighter these days, and let me say… it feels pretty good so far.

Now the last verse is what clinched it, because no matter what I do, no matter how I start the day, there is always the chance that I will f*ck it up again. It pretty much goes without saying. But guess what friends, tomorrow is another chance to try it again. We have one life and we don’t have the time to mess around. It was why I started this journey back in 2014 after my Cancer diagnosis, and it is the precise reason that you should start whatever your heart is longing for. All we can do is be true to ourselves and to the Muse we answer to. Anything other than that is living half a life.

So thank you Sheryl for getting me back on track and making me realize that we are all still learning, still growing, and that we still have a long way to go. This journey has been a blast so far, and now that I have this amazing tune to travel with, I look forward to tomorrow when I can get up and do it again. Come on clean slate… I’m ready to write!

As always, thank you for sharing this journey with me, and for taking the time out of your day to read my thoughts. It means a lot. For anyone interested in my writing please feel free to stay awhile and poke around on my website. I have a ton of content I’ve been developing over the years and I would love to get your thoughts on it.

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