Surround Yourself With What You Love

There’s a certain kind of peace that only arrives when you’re doing something you truly love—the kind of thing that steadies you, grounds you, and reminds you who you really are. For me, that has always been music. Not just playing it, not just listening to it, but living inside it. And it took me years to realize this: when you find something that lights you up, you owe it to yourself to build a life around it, even in small, intentional ways.

That truth hit me harder than ever on a night deep in the mountains.

I had recently connected with an incredible musician—one of those rare people who makes you stop and think, How does someone create something that beautiful? When she invited me to see her perform at a tiny retreat in the forest, I didn’t hesitate. So I drove. The road wound through tall, dark pines as the sky cracked open above me. The stars were unreal that night, sharp, bright, endless. It felt like the universe was quietly nudging me forward.

Eventually, a small cabin appeared between the trees, its windows glowing like a secret tucked into the mountains.

Inside were maybe twenty people total. Strangers, technically, but somehow familiar people who clearly loved something deeply, whether it was music, storytelling, creativity, or simply being present. I was handed hot cider, and a table nearby was scattered with chocolate-covered caramels, ripe for the taking. Everyone tucked into mismatched chairs and blankets as the wind pressed gently on the wooden walls.

When she started to play, the entire room shifted. Her voice filled the space in a soft, powerful way that made everything else fall away. It didn’t feel like a performance; it felt like being invited into something intimate and meaningful. One of those moments you probably shouldn’t take pictures of… even though I still grabbed a few little videos, just to remember how it felt.

Driving home, I realized something simple but important: you don’t have to reinvent your whole life to feel connected or alive. You just have to keep choosing what you love. Choose it in big ways. Choose it in tiny ways. Choose it in spontaneous drives through mountain roads to hear someone sing in a cabin you didn’t know existed.

Because when you surround yourself with what you love with the people, the places, the moments that fill you instead of drain you, your whole world expands. Your heart softens. Life stops feeling like something you’re tolerating and starts feeling like something you’re shaping.

That night wasn’t unforgettable because of the stars or the cider or the caramels—though all of those helped. It was unforgettable because it reminded me of a truth I forget too often: you deserve to feel connected to the things that make you feel most like yourself.

And when you surround yourself with what you love, everything else seems to fall a little more into place.

Challenge of the Week: Choose Your Thing

Somewhere in your week, carve out one hour, just one, for something you genuinely love.

Not something you “should” do.
Not something for someone else.
Not something productive.

Something that lights you up.

Put your phone down.
Say no to guilt.
Let yourself enjoy the thing that makes you feel most like you.

Surround yourself with what you love, even briefly, and see what shifts.