Wisdom comes from many sources and voices. The beauty of our world is that we get to hear these voices and decide what feels true and resonates for each of us. Times are challenging right now, and some voices are saying things that are truly frightening. Other voices are speaking about peace. Peace on the inside and the outside. One of those voices is Snoop Dogg. His words came across my eyes this morning, and I felt inspired to share them with you all.
“Alright now pull up a chair kick your feet up loosen your shoulders. Uncle Snoop about to tell you something. Not a lecture nah. A story. The kind of story that slides in smooth laughs with you first then sneaks a little wisdom in your pocket when you aint looking.
See folks always think my life been one long smoke cloud floating from one party to the next. Like I woke up one day with braids a flow and a star on the sidewalk. Nah nephew. Life dont work like that. Life more like a lowrider with a loose suspension. Smooth if you know how to handle the bumps dangerous if you dont.
Back when I was young I thought success was loud. I thought you had to bark to be heard. I thought the biggest dog in the yard was the one growling the hardest. Turns out the real alpha is sitting in the shade watching everybody else waste energy.
I learned that early and late at the same damn time.
One day Im rushing. Everybody rushing. Managers rushing labels rushing people yelling like the world gonna end if the beat dont drop on time. And Im like hold up. Why we moving like the rent due on peace of mind.
So I stopped.
Not quit. Not disappeared. Just slowed my walk.
And when I slowed down I noticed something wild.
The loudest people usually confused.
The busiest people usually avoiding something.
The angriest people hurt somewhere they dont talk about.
Meanwhile the calm ones they know something.
See life will test you. It will throw distractions at you dressed up as opportunities. It will offer shortcuts that lead straight to dead ends. It will give you applause that disappears the moment you need silence.
And you gotta ask yourself who am I when nobody clapping.
Thats the real interview.
Ive failed. Oh yeah. Ive trusted wrong folks chased shiny things said yes when my soul said nah. Ive worn crowns that didnt fit and walked paths that werent mine. But heres the magic trick nobody tells you.
Failure aint the opposite of success.
Its part of the syllabus.
Every mistake I made taught me something I wouldnt have learned any other way. Patience. Timing. Listening. And most importantly being myself unapologetically.
See when you stop trying to be what the world expects you become dangerous in the best way. You become peaceful. And a peaceful person is hard to manipulate.
People ask me how I stay so cool. Truth is I stopped fighting the current. I learned to float. I learned when to paddle and when to let the river carry me. I learned that not every battle needs my energy and not every opinion deserves my attention.
You dont gotta prove nothing to nobody but yourself.
And even then be gentle.
Because life aint a sprint. Its a groove. Find your rhythm. Move at your own tempo. Laugh often. Love deeply. Forgive quicker than they expect. And never let anybody rush you into becoming something youre not ready to be.
Because the real flex isnt fame or money or noise.
The real flex is peace.
And once you got that everything else just follows you home.
Now go on and live your life baby. And remember stay fly stay kind and mind your own groove.”
Thanks Snoop. The real flex is peace. I love that. For all of us. If you can’t find peace in the world, find it in yourself and radiate it outward. Then peace IS found in the world, FROM YOU. Find your peace, and BE IT, and sometimes finding our way to peace can be an uninspiring and lonely road, and if you would like a hand with that, reach out, I’ll be right here.
