I recently had a conversation with someone about the current “fomo” trend in our culture. On the off chance you’re a bit slang illiterate (like me), fomo stands for “fear of missing out.” That phrase shows up right now on social media and at trendy get-togethers (which might be why I didn’t know the meaning) and in the midnight hour when we stare at the ceiling.
I’ve heard it said in different ways from stay-at-home mamas, corporate climbers, pink-mohawked hipsters, and silver-haired retirees. It is a fear we all have in common. It has been part of my own inner vocabulary, too.
In that conversation about the infamous and universal fomo, I said, “I’ve worried about what I might miss out on if I don’t hold on to everything. But I have never thought about the other risk—the one that’s actually much more likely to happen—and that’s if I live that way, I will certainly miss out on at least some of what’s right in front of me.”
Believing we can have it all — all the time — is a myth and a lie and a joy stealer. What I do believe is that we can have God’s best for us. A full life and life to the full are two very different things.
One is about grasping, the other is about receiving.
One is about cramming in, the other is about room to breathe.
One is about striving, the other is about trust.
One is about control, the other is about letting go—sometimes for a moment and sometimes for always.
I am slowly learning to be a woman who has the gumption (as we say in the South) to set things down so she may move forward, so she may be present. This, I am surprised to find, is much scarier than trying to balance it all. I feel safer with my hands latched on to as much as they can possibly hold. But when I live that way, there is no room for the unexpected, not much space left for the hand of God in mine.
On my bravest and truest days, this is my tiny manifesto for the begging calendar and needy to-do list and noisy-noisy internet: I do not want to come to the end of life and say, “I didn’t miss out on anything.” What I’m aiming to say is, “I missed out on exactly the right things.”
XOXO
Holley Gerth
P.S. This post is a sneak peek excerpt of Fiercehearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely. You’re the first to read these words! How exciting!! Preorder Fiercehearted and join us for the Fall Study.
P.P.S. I want to be sure to mention these events, in case you can come! I’ll be in Grand Rapids on September 27th! Click here for more info on that event. If you’re in Northwest Arkansas or close by {OK, MO, KS, TX–I’m talking to you!} I’d love to see you at the Fiercehearted Launch Party on October 3rd! {A special segment of the Launch Party will be shared via live video in the Fiercehearted Fall Study.}
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From August 16th through October we’re doing a special link-up series to celebrate Fiercehearted: Live Fully, Love Bravely {launching October 3rd!} You’re a fiercehearted woman so I’m asking you to pour out a little love and courage with your words every Wednesday {the link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post, especially if it’s about living fully and loving bravely, and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.
Pretty please use this button in your blog post so others can easily join in with us {the html code is in the right sidebar of my main blog page}. And when you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!
I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth!
{click to tweet that you’re joining me here today}
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