Few things bring me greater joy in life than singing.

I love the art and the discipline and the total immersion in the moment singing brings. 

I sing in the car. I sing in the shower. I sing to our dogs. I sing while I mow the lawn.

Sometimes I even sing with other people. It is hard to describe the interior tingle I feel when four or five or 80 voices blend together in a carefully crafted harmony that soars to the peak of a room and just levitates everyone within earshot. 

Right now I am rehearsing to perform with the Loveland Choral Society (https://www.lovelandchoralsociety.org) for concerts on October 6 and 7 at the Rialto Theater in (where else?) downtown Loveland, Colorado. The show is called A New Day and is a collection of 28 of the most optimistic, upbeat, hope-filled songs you have ever heard. Everything from Something’s Coming from West Side Story, to Climb Every Mountain from Sound of Music, to Cold Play’s Viva la Vida, and finishing up with that quintessential crowd-pleaser, Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars.

After an onslaught of positivity like that, if you don’t float out of the Rialto on an endorphin cloud, you might want to have someone hold a mirror under your nose to check to see if you are breathing.

But here’s the thing; I left last night’s rehearsal somewhat unsettled by the words of one of the numbers we worked on. The song is called Try Everything and was part of the soundtrack of the movie Zootopia. It was originally sung and recorded by Shakira. You can see a video of it here.

Some of the lyrics include these lines: “I won’t give up, I won’t give in. I want to try everything. I want to try even though I could fail.”

A noble, positive sentiment if I ever heard one, wouldn’t you agree? It speaks of the kind of adventuring, risking spirit that built this country and launched the first Starbucks at Pike Place Market in Seattle. 

But… try EVERYTHING? Seriously?

It may be because I am firmly ensconced in the twilight season of life, but I have to say; there are a whole BUNCH of things I have zero interest whatsoever in trying. For example…

• I don’t want to try hang gliding.
• I don’t want to try playing professional football. Or even amateur football, for that matter.
• I don’t want to try undertaking a cross-country bicycle trip.
• I don’t want to try starting my own business (even though I have a hundred great ideas).
• I won’t try pole vaulting, motocross, or competitive weightlifting.
• I certainly don’t want to try Rocky Mountain oysters.
• And I absolutely REFUSE to try heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, LSD, ‘shrooms, or any other mind-and-mood-altering substance.

As you can see, in a marked departure from the spirit of the song, there is a LOOOOONG list of things I won’t try.

More important than anything on the list above, I have no interest in trying to live a life without faith. Or without hope. Or without love. Or without Jesus. 

I can make that statement with complete confidence because I have already tried living without each of those things at different times in my life. And I have seen firsthand how empty life can be without them. 

Yes, Shakira. I agree. Without a willingness to stick our necks out into unfamiliar, even scary places, life soon becomes stagnant… a stale caricature. When the fear of failure shields us from new experiences, we lose life’s vitality and sense of adventure.

Some things, though, really shouldn’t be tried… even with your doctor’s supervision. But if you really want to go for the gusto, why not try the Jesus Way? He did say, after all, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, NRSV).

Now isn’t that worth a try?

Abundant blessings;