Duly Noted: Give It Up, Turn It Loose

By Jarrett in : Duly Noted, Jarrett Hill // Apr 27 2011

Back in the day (and I do mean BACK) there was a hot song, called Give it Up Turn It Loose, by an outstanding female R&B group, En Vogue. The title really says it all, right? Mhmm.

Click here to buy En Vogue

A couple months ago while riding down Peachtree St. a friend told me about her life’s recent developments, and how blessed her life had been in recent months. It was really outstanding to hear her story of how things were working out in her favor in so many ways. She said to me, “Jarrett, sometimes you have to go to God and say, ‘God, whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.’ and just offer up all the dreams, wants, ideas… everything.”

Hm. Ok, girl. Have a good time with that. Now, her story was wonderfully and delightfully inspiring, I’d really been moved – but this whole, “give-up-on-your-dreams” nonsense, hunny you can have that. I wasn’t using it.

A few days later I believe I was listening to Wayne Dyer’s audiobook, Manifest Your Destiny. Somewhere in his talk he talked about opening yourself to the possibilities God and the Universe have to offer you. To allow thinking beyond what you’ve put together for yourself and to move in that space, after having been still there. Yeah, Wayne. Cute.

Soon after I turned on one of favorite shows, Oprah Presents: Master Class. It was the two-part finale of the season. Oprah talked about many of the great lessons she’s learned in her years moving through life. Then came a story I’d certainly heard at least three times before.

Oprah tells it here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cVEQU_W2wI]

She talked about the process she went through around being cast for her role in The Color Purple. She talked about wanting the role more than anything she’d wanted before and how when it was quite clear the role was going to someone else, Alfré Woodard, she prayed and let it go. She said to God that she wanted to let this go, actually be able to see the movie and bless Alfré in the role, and be able to move on, while singing the old spiritual, “I Surrender All.” The song is a letter to God, of sorts. In part, the song says:

“All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give,

I will ever love and trust him,

In His presence daily live.

“I surrender all, I surrender all.

All to thee, my blessed savior.

I surrender all.”

I was starting to notice a trend in the messages I was getting. (You can watch Oprah recount the story at the end of this post.)

Then, Oprah, in the episode of Master Class, started talking about how God, the Universe, speaks to us. Now this, I’ve heard countless times. She said it happens, first, in whispers. You’ll get a message in a small way that you may notice, but can easily dismiss. Then the next time it’s like getting thumped upside the head, whatever the message is to you comes a little bit more definitively. Then after the subtle notes it’s like you get brick to the head, and then when the message has to be conveyed in no uncertain terms, it’s like the whole brick wall comes tumbling down on to you.

I hear that and think “Ok. So… is it me or am I standing too close to the brick wall?”

Since then I’ve spent some time praying about my inability to offer up my dreams in exchange for “whatever the God and the Universe has for me.” I’ve been meditating, praying, thinking, and conversing on this idea of surrendering and just meeting your purpose where it is and allowing it to guide you.

One day I prayed and told God the truth. “Look,” I said, “I’m not in a place that I can say I throw all that I’ve dreamed about out the window. I can’t just say that today because the dreams I have for myself I’ve had since I was a little boy. But I want to be that open.” This prayer came from me remembering the Bible story of the man who told Jesus that he had faith in His ability to heal his son, but that he need Jesus to help his unbelief. (Mark 9:24) I prayed that prayer and felt my uncertainty inside. I could feel the nervousness of the idea of being pulled in a direction that I had no interest in, nor passion about.

Then I got the response: “Do you think I’ve given you the dreams, skills, gifts, and talents you have for me to send you in an opposite direction? Trust me.”

About 6 weeks after that prayer, while walking home it finally happened for me. For some reason, while coming down the street, staring at the evening sky I started back to the prayer. I prayed and said, “Whatever it is, I’ll go. I’m available, I’m open and I’ll do it. Whether you want me to stay here in Atlanta, go to LA, or if you want me somewhere else, I’ll go. Just make it clear to me.” That was this last Friday, incidentally Good Friday.

Oprah always says “God can dream a bigger dream for you than you could ever dream for yourself.” Who knows what that dream will look like and how it will relate to mine, if it does at all. All I know, right now, is that I have to “give it up” and “turn it loose” if I want to find out what that is.

::cue the music::

Sunday afternoon, Easter Sunday to be exact, I got an email from an old manager who just got a fantastic new job in a great big city. She needs to build her new team and wanted to know if I’d be interested in moving there to be a part of it. We’re supposed to talk again in a few weeks about the opportunity and how it’d work out. I guess we’ll see what happens next…

Give it up. Then note it, duly.

j.

“When you’ve worked as hard, and done as much, and strived, and tried, and given, and plead, and bargained, and hoped… surrender. When you’ve done all that you can do, and there’s nothing left for you to do, give it up. Give it up to that thing that is greater than yourself.” Oprah

RELEVANT MEDIA:

From a few years ago: Oprah told the I Surrender All story, Faith Hill then performed the song: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12GPrKP_34Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player]

For those of you that have it stuck in your head, En Vogue’s music video for Give It Up, Turn It Loose:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgTuPoNfAAc]