Freedom
/This is the song that, for me, started it all. I'm serious. The words at once knocked me to the ground and then grabbed my hand and pulled me back up again. All in several minutes. When Beyoncé sings "winners don't quit on themselves" I thought, how did she know?
In certain crucial ways, I did indeed feel I was letting myself down, knowingly not reaching my full level of actualization. It was so frustrating and disappointing. I had resigned myself to what I thought had to be certain facts about my life. That "it is what it is", which happens to be a phrase I loathe in general. It makes everything feel so final and stunted, it renders us powerless to fix or change, the "is" holds us underwater... To listen to this deeply powerful woman screaming for freedom, building herself up, coaching herself in the ring of life, reaching frantic levels of emotion, and pushing herself up, through, and above the currents trying to hold her under... We all need this level of understanding and motivation. There's no one who doesn't desperately require this message at some point.
Song of the day
Listen to Freedom by Beyoncé (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
Never give up, never quit. To quit is to imprison yourself. To keep going is to buy your freedom. It's bad enough when you feel someone else is holding you back, but to be your own obstacle is way worse. And that's how I felt, that I was in my own way. At a certain point, I couldn't blame anyone else, because I was wasting my abilities to overcome whatever was standing in my path. Sure, life will take aim at you, but you can stand still and get hit, or you can duck. As all mighty as Queen Bey is, we need to talk about Kendrick. There's almost no human that can not only hold their own with Beyoncé, but who can hit harder than she can. Truthfully I often fast forward this song just to hear his parts. My heart pounds each time he BUSTS OPEN.
It’s like watching a kettle slowly come to boil and then furiously spill over. And over. And you don't want it to stop. He pants, he grunts, he looks directly into your eyes, with laser focus, and wills you to follow him. To trust his strength and your own. It's an eruption. You want to be swept away in the hot lava of his words. The first time I heard of Kendrick Lamar, I instantly fell in love with both parts of his super cool name. Then the voice, then the lyrics, then his wardrobe when he was a guest of Stephen Colbert, which if memory serves, was a turtleneck and a pea coat (!!!!!!). Alone or in a collaboration, he adds this unattainable depth and strength to any song. We are so lucky to be alive right now at the same time as this poet. When he sings about carving his name in concrete, oh you best believe he will. Will you? I'm going to sure as hell try. Because winners don't quit on themselves.
