Ok, I’m not sure if that will invoke the ire of Swifties across the interwebs, but I’ll risk it. I got up early this morning to record a podcast with someone in a different timezone. That left me with a choice: go back to bed or stay up and start my day early. After setting a new alarm, I shifted gears and ultimately I have decided for the latter. Now I find myself at Sbux being a “grown up” and listening to a Taylor Swift playlist. It’s strange because typically they don’t have many artist specific lists, but this morning it’s all Taylor, all the time.

Recovery throws us curves all the time. I think that if things always went according to plan I probably wouldn’t know how to handle that, so I welcome the occasional spanner in the works. I’m doping things I don’t normally do: getting up early, staying up after getting up early, listening to Taylor Swift…but I’m keeping things in control to the best of my ability. I’m even keeping in touch with my “people” as I explore the new experiences. (Thanks Andrew and Giselle!) I’m leaving the trail of breadcrumbs as I delve into the forest. That way I don’t get lost and I’m allowing trusted people to give me input about my decisions. It may seem a bit trivial, but if I follow the right principles in the simple things, I’m more likely to follow the right principles in the tough stuff too! For now, I’ll do like the tempo of the latest Taylor Swift offering at Starbucks and…

–Rise Up!!