Do you remember the old school record player?
Victrolas,
They called them.
It was an upright or console model phonograph,
Usually with a wooden cabinet or body that played 78s,
33s,
And 45s vinyl records,
And an interior old-fashioned speaker.
One thing they all had in common,
A steel needle on the front underside of the arm.
It didn't matter how expensive or inexpensive your record player was,
Tabletop or elegant console,
Floor model,
You had to keep the dust off the needle and change it regularly.
Otherwise,
The needle would malfunction,
Drag or skip,
And consequently ruin the vinyl record.
Sometimes the needle would get stuck in a groove or a scratch in the vinyl record and keep repeating the same few bars of the music until you manually fixed the problem.
You had to quickly lift the arm of the needle before it caused more damage to the record and the needle itself.
That's what happens to some of us.
Our needles get stuck,
And we keep repeating the same story over and over to anyone polite enough to listen.
Sometimes you see a person that you haven't seen in years,
And they're still singing the same old song called,
My Tale of Woe.
Some are genuinely asking for help to heal,
But just going about it in the wrong way,
The only way they know how.
Others take comfort in the familiarity of their grief and sorrow.
Well,
Those you just love them and leave them to themselves.
Either way,
There's a need.
That isn't to say the story isn't a legitimate story of hurt or disappointment.
Surely things happen and feelings are real.
Just don't let the needle get stuck.
When your needle is stuck,
You continue to relive the hurt.
The needle is stuck in the groove of the hurtful experience,
And the pain continues to be in the now.
It has the same energy in the present as it had when it happened.
Just as when the needle would get stuck in the groove of a final record,
And you had to stop what you were doing,
Get up from wherever you were,
Go over to the record player and fix it,
So must you fix your needle.
You can't undo whatever happened.
Don't we all wish we could do that?
Maybe you tried a business that didn't work,
And you lost everything,
Including your pride.
Maybe someone did you wrong.
Maybe you didn't get the break you deserved,
That job or that promotion.
Maybe you got passed over for someone less qualified.
Maybe you were the scapegoat for someone else's issues.
Maybe someone be nicked on a promise to help you.
Maybe you had one or more failed marriages.
There are endless maybes,
But the pain is real,
And that too can seem endless.
There is no fault for feeling pain.
That's human.
But it is also human to heal,
So lift the needle out of the groove of your memory so that you can move on.
You can't experience the blessings in the now if you're living in the then.
The question to be answered in the here and now is this,
Is your needle stuck?
Are you that person with one song?
Are you singing the same old song to the same old tune?
With all due respect,
Kindness,
And compassion,
Divine Beloved,
No one is singing with you,
And no one wants to keep hearing the encore.
They're trying to sing their own songs.
But here's the good news.
It's time to let go.
Move on.
Sing a new song.
Try a different melody and see what blessings await you.
Your vessel cannot be replenished and be filled with new fresh water if you still have it filled with what has become sludge.
The saying goes like this,
Let go and let God.
You've heard it.
Sounds good,
But there's no instructions attached.
Okay,
So pay attention.
It starts with these questions.
Do you want to be healed?
Do you want your life back?
Do you want to know what your life can be and live that life now?
The choice is entirely yours.
If your answer is yes to these questions,
The only thing holding you back is you.
Yes,
You want people to understand your pain,
Maybe even sympathize with you about it.
Truth is,
Whether they do or don't makes no difference whatsoever.
When the pity party is over,
No matter how long it lasts,
Weeks or years,
The choice to move on or not begins and ends with you.
It isn't easy.
Not much in this life is easy.
There's no magic way to begin again.
You just have to start.
Clean your needle.
Get in charge of yourself and your life.
Click the reset button on your mindset and do the work,
And you can do it.
Yes,
You can.
It begins with knowing that you are made in the image of God,
That you are a unique expression of the infinite being,
The infinite intelligence that knows everything you need to know,
Everything that there is to know.
The decision to live a whole and complete life in the present,
In the now,
Is completely possible because spirit is with you,
Never absent.
Take the dust off your needle.
Change the record.
When you sing a new song,
Others will sing with you.
I'm Carol,
And this was my thought at first light.
