Believing in the Resolute Urgency of Now

Last week was my first week back to school, and it was exhausting. Regular readers of this blog may have noticed the lack of posts recently, a direct by-product of the return of students into my life. Several times in the last 10 days, I had ideas for posts, or resolved that I would write something today, but then I fell asleep on the couch instead.

As a result of this exhaustion, I decided that this weekend would be filled with glorious nothing.

Then I woke up on Saturday morning. As I lay in bed, awake, but not really ready to get up, I started perusing Facebook on my phone. I saw update after update of friends from JMU who had made the trek to Blacksburg for the David vs Goliath game of James Madison vs Virginia Tech, and I started to feel a little bit of regret for opting not to go. At that very moment, the phone started to ring. Seeing that it was my friend Jenny, I answered in typical fashion:

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT?"

The reply was what I expected, but not in the voice I expected.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT? DO YOU KNOW WHO THE FUCK THIS IS?"

I did. It was not Jenny, but our friend Travis's mom. She proceeded to harangue me for not being at Tech for the weekend, and then passed the phone off to yet another friend, who told me I should come to the game. I looked at the clock. It was 9:30 - I had just enough time to make it to Blacksburg for the 1:30 kickoff if I left immediately and drove fast.

I thought for a second about my plans of laying on the couch all day to recuperate from the rough week, but I knew I didn't really have time to contemplate my decision. If I was going to go, I had to go now. I went with my gut and said I'd be there as soon as I could. Getting that phone call in the middle of second-guessing my decision to stay home felt something like providence, so I just went with it.

If you pay attention to college football, you've probably guessed that I am extremely happy with the decision I made. JMU beat VT 21-16 in the biggest upset in this young college football season, and my beloved alma mater gained some attention in the national spotlight for beating one of the top teams in all of football. More than that, I got to spend unexpected time with friends, run into many people I haven't seen since college, and share an historic moment in our school's history with all of them, and many others.

This may be true with your university as well, but the sense of community among JMU students and alumni seems extraordinary to me. I feel such a bond with people I barely know when we each express our love for our home in Harrisonburg. Many outsiders have expressed wonder at how strange it is that almost all JMU students love their school SO much; I don't know if I can really explain, but there does seem to be some sort of magic that we feel. Dukes are without a doubt the happiest, friendliest, most positive people I know. It was special, and I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to share in one of the most inspiring moments in our school's history with a group of like-minded people.

It would have been easier for me to decline the pleas of my friends (and my friends' parents) for me to high-tail it across the state to go to the game. It would have been a lot easier to lay on the couch all day and maybe watch the game on TV. It would have been easier, and it would have been the logical decision, but it also would have been the wrong decision.

I don't know why I keep needing to remind myself that life needs to be lived in the moment, that planning things out too much is silly. My very first tattoo reads "Believe in the resolute urgency of now", a reminder to myself to accept things as they come and not worry about left-brained things like logic and practicality. The universe is full of amazing experiences just waiting to be had, and every time I allow myself to take advantage of the opportunities presented to me, I am thankful that I did. I think most of the greatest days of my life were unplanned - the results of whimsy and whims. I am thankful that Travis's mom drunk-dialed me at 9:30 on a Saturday morning, I am thankful that Emily took the phone from her and asked me to come to the game, and I am thankful that I heeded the advice that I had put under my skin and did something kind of stupid and totally fun.

Go Dukes!