2024 Summer Playlist: Unplug & Elevate
Unplug & Elevate: Notes of Empowerment Summer Playlist is a collaborative mixtape of music and thoughts sourced by three colleagues who work in the areas of wellness, burnout, and purpose, but more importantly, who are friends. We know that having the right playlist for a road trip (or whatever journey one is on) makes ALL the difference. This summer, we handpicked songs from our lives that helped us to rebalance, recoup our own stories, and root into our purpose. LISTEN HERE!
I couldn’t fathom a playlist about songs that speak to our truths without multiple Indigo Girls’ songs. I probably could have done an entire series just on these amazing women and their songs that have helped shape countless moments of my life. I consider the Indigo Girls to be modern day prophets, poets, women warriors, sages, healers, and icons – and the list could go on. I don’t think of myself as a very deep thinker. In college I loved philosophy class, my degree is in art history, I enjoy discussing art, and I like to stay in the know of current events and what is shaping our world, but I don’t understand poetry, I rarely pay attention to song lyrics (read more here), and I am regularly baffled by discussions around higher meaning.
Enter the Indigo Girls. They have a way of making complex ideas make sense, and while their lyrics are beautiful, soulful, and full of wisdom, they are in a language that I understand. Their songs are simultaneously a lightbulb going off in my mind and truths I’ve known my whole life. But enough about these amazing women, and onto how I understand their songs. Being the Indigo Girls, I couldn’t possibly just write about one song, even writing about specific lyrics from three felt like a slight. At different times in my life, I would have probably chosen different lyrics, but, for today, I bring you Closer to Fine, Galileo, and Least Complicated.
Closer to Fine
There’s more than one answer to these questions
And the less I seek my source for some definitive
Closer I am to fine
It really doesn’t even need me to dig into these lyrics, they are beautifully sung and honest. But, just for fun, let’s dig! It’s taken me a long time to understand that there are, in fact, more than one answers to these life questions. How beautiful and freeing is that?! There is more than one right answer – which means, try, learn, grow, pivot, try, learn, grow, pivot, repeat – because there are so many wonderful paths to being you. What’s possible when you stop seeking the definitive? You are closer to fine – freedom. When we let go of trying to control the narrative, those around us, the journey – everything – when we let go from trying to be something we are not, or perfect, or someone for someone else, we get closer to fine.
Who are you meant to be in this world? How do you want to define your story and your successes? What do you want to leave behind? How can you get closer to fine?
Galileo
How long ’til my soul gets it right
Can any human being ever reach that kind of light?
To me, these lyrics are about forgiving oneself. I don’t think I’m alone in the “beating myself up” arena, I think, especially women, do a lot of this. How many times will I make the same mistakes? For me, this type of self-talk often leads to shutting down. I’m not going to get it right, so I’m not going to try. My ideas are never enough for this group, so I’m going to stop participating. And, most harmful, I never seem to get it, so why bother trying to learn. For years of my life, I had these conversations going on so far in the background of my mind, I didn’t hear them anymore. They were ingrained in me, and I was just living them without realizing it – not really trying, participating, or learning – in certain arenas. I’m not proud of it, but I do understand why it was my go-to move. And I’m proud to be able to name it and see the differences in my life now.
These lyrics, plus the song’s overall themes of reincarnation, remind me that no one is ever getting it right, at least not all the time. You might get something “right” today, and then you might get something “wrong” tomorrow. But it’s about the journey. How long till my soul gets it right? Quite simply, never AND always. Any time I put myself out there, any time I try, any time I write a blog series with amazing friends and add my voice with theirs to broadcast into the world of social media, every time I do any of those things, my soul gets it right. Every time I hold my boundaries, stick up for my needs, show compassion to others and myself, my soul gets it right. Can any human reach that kind of light? I don’t know, but I know that I want to be on the journey to find out.
Least Complicated
Again, thank you to the goddesses that are the Indigo Girls for making this easy on me. As I said at the start, I don’t tend to listen to song lyrics, I’m more into the overall feeling I get from the music, so when I hear myself belting out lyrics, I know they have resonated with me. This song has lots of meaning to it, but my big takeaway is,
The hardest to learn was the least complicated
I’m going to own my middle age for a moment here and say that I’ve learned a lot over the past 40+ years. But the journey I’ve been on since turning 40, the truths I’ve learned about myself and the grace I’ve learned to give myself, have been both the hardest to learn and the least complicated.
We humans are complex beings. We have real needs, wants and desires, hopes and dreams and it can all get very overwhelming and complicated. But, at the end of the day, we want to be heard and seen in this world. We want to be loved and respected. We want to be free to be ourselves. We want to have the freedom, space, and resources to live a life that feels purposeful and whole. We can complicate that so much with wants and voices of dissent – both internal and external, we can hold ourselves back, we can fight against the truths, we can make it all really hard on ourselves. And yet, it’s the least complicated. You be you – you beautiful, perfect, unique you. The world needs you, in all your wholeness.
Thank you, Indigo Girls, for reminding me to seek less definitive answers, trust my soul, and just be me.
Featured Response by Eileen Murphy from Blackbird Life Coaching
I can’t believe this is the first time I have listened to the Indigo Girls. They’ve always fluttered outside of my musical interests, and now I understand why people are astonished when I tell them, “I don’t think I’ve ever listened to them.” I love Charlotte’s philosophical take on these three songs and how they have supported her beautiful growth. What’s most palpable is her commitment to, as she puts it, “I want to be on the journey to find out.”
As we Unplug & Elevate this summer, this is the true essence of elevation – embracing the journey of self-discovery without knowing exactly where it will lead. As we embark on this path, we should pack our learnings, intuition, support networks, trust, skills, values, and desires. Whatever challenges arise, we are equal to them. Sure, we’ll slip up – face-planting is more my style, giving me an opportunity to rest and reflect on what contributed to the fall, both externally and internally. Then, we can adjust and try again. As the song “Try Everything” by Shakira from Zootopia reminds us: “I wanna try everything, I wanna try even though I could fail.”
To elevate effectively, consider incorporating these steps into your journey of self-discovery:
- Reflect Regularly: Set aside time each week to reflect on your experiences, learnings, and feelings. Journaling can be a powerful tool for this.
- Embrace New Experiences: Don’t shy away from trying new things, even if they feel challenging or intimidating.
- Seek Support: Surround yourself with a supportive community that encourages your growth and holds you accountable.
- Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself when things don’t go as planned. Use setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow.
- Stay Open-Minded: Keep an open mind to different perspectives and ideas. This can lead to unexpected and enriching discoveries.
By incorporating these practices, we can truly elevate our lives and embrace the journey of self-discovery, just as Charlotte has done with the guidance of the Indigo Girls’ music.
Featured Response by Megan Hutchinson-Krings from Mindful Heart Counseling
I’m so glad I have friends who love this band as much as I do. Thanks for adding these songs to the playlist, Charlotte. The Indigo Girls changed how I listen to music. After purchasing Rites of Passage (my first IG album in 1992) I was hooked. I couldn’t listen to top 40 radio anymore. Their music and lyrics live in my cells. I want to take a deeper dive into one of the three songs listed.
So, I was SHOCKED this morning when my husband revealed his new insight into their song Galileo after listening to the playlist yesterday. The foundational work of Galileo is still felt in our postmodern world, I mean most of us believe the Earth isn’t flat. Due to his findings and how it challenged the status quo, the Roman Inquisition convicted him of Hersey. In the summer of 1663, he had to recant his (say that all his life’s work isn’t true!) and was forced to house arrest for the remainder of his life.
Cut to the 1980/1990’s. Emily Sailors (the blond Indigos Girl) is a queer daughter of a United Methodist pastor and theologian in Georgia. Struggling with her identity, worried for what she would lose and what would happen to her relationships with family. So, she writes from a place of deep understanding “How long till my soul gets it right? I call on the resting soul of Galileo, King of Night Vision, King of Insight.” A potential heretic calling on the saint of heretics.
Thirty years (ish) later, being queer still isn’t without consequence. It’s certainly not as accepted as the idea that the world is round, but in 1992 the Catholic Church did forgive Galileo of any wrongdoing. Charlotte, I agree this song is filled with wrestling with forgiving oneself. I also think it’s a prayer from one “heretic” to another hoping that maybe they didn’t really need forgiveness in the first place.
Megan Hutchinson Krings, LCSW CADC is a licensed clinical social worker and a certified alcohol and drug counselor. She often works with folks when their neglected hunches about life manifest into addiction, depression, anxiety, burnout, or deep grief for the life they want but can’t have. Megan is the founder of Mindful Heart Counseling.
Eileen Murphy, MA in Industrial & Organizational Psychology, is your go-to certified Stress Management and Health & Wellness coach. She’s on a mission to help you disrupt your stress and find joy, aligning your career, health, and wellness like a life-balancing pro. Eileen is the founder of Blackbird Life Coaching.
Charlotte Kovacs, ACC, CPCC, empowers mid-career women who are at a crossroads, wondering what they want to be when they grow up. She provides one-on-one and small group programs designed to help them set bold goals, enabling them to fulfill their purpose both professionally and personally. Charlotte is the founder of Charlotte Kovacs Coaching.
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