My recent trip down the Bon Iver rabbit hole…
…led me to rediscovering my love of the Indigo Girls and Amy Ray’s solo project.
…Which led me to search for a podcast interview with them.
…Which lo and behold, brought me to Krista Tippett’s OnBeing interview: Indigo Girls — No Separation: On Music and Transcendence.
During their conversation, Tippett read these lyrics from Closer to Fine. They struck me right in the heart:
There's more than one answer to these questions
Pointing me in a crooked line
And the less I seek my source for some definitive
Closer I am to fine
It wasn’t until the past few years of my life that I began to understand these lyrics. For me, the “source” means so many things. Education, family, writers, friends, artists, nature, religion, the universe—all places I’ve searched for answers.
In many ways, the key to my own peace is described in this line: “And the less I seek my source for some definitive”.
Meaning, the more I…
…embrace mystery
…trust my discernment
…wait for answers to come on their own time
The closer I am to fine.
P.S. The Closer to Fine video:
P.P.S. TODAY interview with The Indigo Girls about Closer to Fine:
I have so much to say about this! I can remember clearly the first time I heard the Indigo Girls-- I was 25 years old at a party and “Closer to Fine” came on--I felt it deep in my soul and practically knocked people over trying to get to the hostess to find out who was making such beautiful music! That remains one of my very favorite albums of all times. And yesterday afternoon when I got home from work I pulled out my guitar and tried to learn to play.....guess what....Closer to Fine! I’m still very much a beginner (and the Indigo Girls know. LOT of chords) but I found a simple version and played and sang to my heart’s content! There is also a fun episode with them on the “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast.
And “ the less I seek my source part” reminds me of the Rilke quote (did I learn about this from you?)
“Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday in the future, you will gradually, without noticing it, live your way into the answer”
And in living into the answer, we are closer to fine!