This past weekend I found myself at Rhythm and Roots, a music festival with no agenda other than to simply be. Walk. Sit. Stare. Connect with whatever drew me in. I liked that—freedom without expectation.
Now, I’ll be honest. I’m not a bluegrass girl. I didn’t grow up listening to banjos and fiddles. But I love the atmosphere of live music—the clapping, the toe tapping, the way music pulls people together. So we found a spot near the Sixth Street stage, sat down in the middle of the parking lot, and let ourselves just chill for a moment.
The band wasn’t one I knew, but the kids were good. I listened, enjoyed it, and figured I was ready to move on. And then—something shifted.
The drummer.
He started driving the beat so fast, so hard, that it stopped me in my tracks. His energy pulled me deeper into the music. And all at once, I got that shot in the arm—that shift in my soul that caused me to NOTICE.
I noticed the way the band members leaned into one another, seamlessly trading rhythms and melodies. I noticed how free and spontaneous they were, like kids on a playground making up games as they went. I noticed the emotions—raw, vulnerable, unapologetic—spilling from the stage into the crowd. Joy became contagious. Laughter lifted the space. Spirits rose together.
It was a reminder: sometimes the most important things aren’t seen at first glance. They’re felt. They’re revealed when we take the time to pause and notice.
That’s the power of our emotions. They carry us beyond surface-level seeing into deeper knowing. They show us connections we might have missed, stories unspoken but alive all around us.
So here’s my invitation for you this week:
✨ Notice.
Notice the energy in the room.
Notice the unspoken connection between people.
Notice what your own emotions are whispering beneath the noise.
Because sometimes the thing you notice is the very thing that changes everything.