HOW TO EAT THE SUMMER - NOTES ON HOW TO LET YOUR LIFE SPEAK
BY DAVE BRIDGEFORTH
As I arrive upon the last Summer of my 20s there are a few things that must be noted about what it takes to let your life speak.
When I was a child I didn’t think much of my future. The life I’ve been able to lead all of my 20s would be considered fiction for me as a kid. I was raised in the belief that Jesus was coming back in a rapture and we the remnant would be gone in a blink of an eye. Therefore I didn't indulge my mind in the pleasures of the world. My brother and I were raised under rumors of war —Momma reminded us daily that it was the last days and that the devil was out to sift us like wheat. So we read the book of Revelations daily during homeschool and that was our reality.
Let the narrative you entertain for your life, serve your greatness.
I now believe that there is nothing but love for me in the universe. I tell myself stories of wonderment within my own life. And for Jesus to come back, would mean he left me and that he can not do. I am clear that no one, no devil, principalities, or powers are out to get me; I don’t run from, I leap into. For if there is no enemy within an enemy outside can do me no harm.
Be full of yourself; how empty of you to be full of anyone else.
Most of my 20s in publishing this magazine has been about the business of show. Every issue a different me on the cover for all to see. This urged me into the practice of loving who I was every step of the way. Self love breeds Authenticity. (write that down somewhere)
It is through loving what is that you can create and manifest what you want. There were years where I was skinny with no muscles and some where I was thick in all the wrong places. Throughout all times I spoke of nothing but love for my body, how it championed for me. I gave myself permission to be wherever I was at that time and indulged there. I orchestrated celebrations for self, daily. I affirm myself without contemplations of judgements or shame. This is why my body slays today, for it is filled, overflowing, with love.
Know the cost of your attention.
Your attention is power. Whatever you focus on expands and that take up more space in your life. Therefore focus upward and forward, ’feed your faith and let your fears starve to death’.
Those who were broken are more evolved.
One of the greatest gifts I received in my 20s was heartbreak.
Having my notions of love shattered was daunting as death could be for many, not knowing what awaits thereafter.
Heartbreak taught me the ability to recycle energy, to harness it. Brokenness allowed me to understand that no matter what it disguised itself as, it was simply energy. I learned that I possessed the capability of gathering the million little broken pieces of myself and construct better.
From the empowered position of broken was I able to feel the love in the loneliness, read the message buried under the mess —transform pain into power. The exact power I needed to evolve higher.
Everything is practice until what you want is in front of you.
I feel like the last 15 years of my life have been prerequisites for now practice for what I am walking into in my life. I live with bated breath for the world of wonder that is revealing itself to me daily.
The space of anticipation is where miraculous opportunities are created when you are courageously practicing for everything you saywith your heart and mouth that you want.
Note to self: Don’t indulge yourself in others compliments of you; this is the quickest way to become full of others. When they become criticisms from critics you will be tied and consumed by them. Be gracious and grateful, nothing more, nothing less.
Know your weaknesses and the intricate details of what defines you.
Do yourself a favor and understand that the universe has conspired on your behalf, at your very acknowledgement of thought of a better you, to cause your weaknesses to becomes strengths. Prepare your self for conditioning. Lean into every challenge, the prize is your best self.
“Bitch, be humble. Sit down” —Kendrick Lamar
To know which way is forward, keep your ear humbled down to the rock to feel which way the river runs. As told to me by, Maya Angelou, “Humility is, I am great, yes, because of everyone who came before me”. Stand very tall and proud but note always on whose shouldersallow you to sparkle in that moment.
Now is your life and you will never have this moment again; bask in your bliss. This looks like consciously and intentionally creating experiences for yourself that give you butterflies.
Fulfill your dreams. Leap and trust a net will appear. You will never be this young in this space in your life; breath this raw air in now, deeply, one day you might just feen for the taste of it on the back of your tongue.
Oh, and one more thing before you go. You can only eat the Summer the same way you eat cake or an elephant; one bite at a time.
Today, take a big bite and eat for your life.
