The following transcript is from a podcast I listened to when Lee Camp interviewed Amy Grant, and I love this advice of wiggling your toes as a small intentional grounding practice:
https://www.nosmallendeavor.com/amy-grant-fame-vulnerability-and-staying-grounded
Amy: But even at the Kennedy Center, I was so glad I didn't have to sing for that. I was so glad I didn't have to actually say very much. And I did go up and receive the award at a private dinner. I didn't have a speech, I didn't-- I just thought, I just, all I did was wiggle my toes and I just said, I will speak the truth of whatever comes into my head. And um, the overwhelming gift of feeling, I do feel like I see life through a different lens since last summer.
And I think there are some things that are probably changed about me. I don't know if it was the blow to the head. I feel like part of my filter is gone.
[Both laugh]
Lee: For good or for ill, I suppose.
Amy:
Yeah. I just feel so much gratitude for right now, all the possibility of right now. And it makes everything more precious because for the first time in my life, I have felt very aware [00:23:00] that the resources of time, talent, treasure, ability, all those things... our resources are limited.
Lee:
Yeah. Right.
Amy:
And so what we do matters. And we can't do everything.
Lee:
Yeah.
I'm struck by something you just said that I want to follow up on. So, "wiggle my toes and speak the truth as it comes into my head." That seems to me pretty worth meditating on at some length. And I can speculate, but why wiggle your toes?
Amy:
The morning of my mother's funeral, I was rushing around. I had planned several things to say, I had sort of loose notes. I got a call from Sheryl Crow, who lives in Nashville. She's one of three sisters, also a great relationship with her mother. And we don't see each other often, but we have a really dear friendship.
And she happened to call me. And that morning I said, [00:24:00] uh, you know, I was so rattled, I said, "I'm getting ready to go speak at my mom's service, and I'm so afraid I'm just gonna start crying and not be able to function."
And she's, I think this is what her mother told her, but she said, "Wherever you are, wiggle your toes. If you will wiggle your toes, it will connect you to the moment. It will remind you that you're in the present, and you'll return to yourself. You'll return to the moment in which you stand."
And that advice was very helpful that day. And, uh, yeah, it came from Sheryl. It's been helpful so many times in my life.
Lee:
Yeah. I suspect I'm going to remember that one. Yeah, that's, that's really helpful.
No comments:
Post a Comment