00:00:00.957 --> 00:00:06.197

Kevin Lowe: You know that moment, the moment that comes out of nowhere, the moment when everything changes.

00:00:06.537 --> 00:00:09.957

Kevin Lowe: I'm talking about the phone call that you never could have expected.

00:00:10.357 --> 00:00:15.417

Kevin Lowe: I'm talking about the diagnosis that changes everything. It's you walking into

00:00:15.417 --> 00:00:18.297

Kevin Lowe: work to find out that you no longer have a job.

00:00:18.577 --> 00:00:21.277

Kevin Lowe: Or maybe it's the breakup that you never saw coming.

00:00:21.477 --> 00:00:24.017

<v Speaker1>You never thought that you would be someone

00:00:24.017 --> 00:00:30.017

Kevin Lowe: Getting a divorce. It's when life takes a sudden left turn and everything you know changes.

00:00:30.537 --> 00:00:32.057

<v Speaker1>Everything about who you are,

00:00:32.217 --> 00:00:37.037

Kevin Lowe: What you ever hoped or dreamed of is gone. Today, my friend,

00:00:37.297 --> 00:00:38.357

Kevin Lowe: that's what we're talking about.

00:00:38.537 --> 00:00:40.317

<v Speaker1>Is when life breaks your heart.

00:00:40.417 --> 00:00:43.937

Kevin Lowe: And when that happens, how do you begin to recover?

00:00:44.177 --> 00:00:51.477

<v Speaker1>How do you begin to move forward? And how do you begin to reinvent who you are?

00:00:51.477 --> 00:00:57.677

Kevin Lowe: To find a new version of you, this person who can keep going in spite of it all.

00:00:58.017 --> 00:01:02.257

Kevin Lowe: Today, my friend, we're going to be talking about all of that and more all inside

00:01:02.257 --> 00:01:07.157

Kevin Lowe: of today's 376th episode of Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

00:01:08.177 --> 00:01:12.177

Kevin Lowe: Hey, I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and you are listening to Grit,

00:01:12.337 --> 00:01:13.717

Kevin Lowe: Grace, and Inspiration.

00:01:14.757 --> 00:01:20.617

Kevin Lowe: For myself, that moment was back in 2003. I was just at the start of my junior

00:01:20.617 --> 00:01:25.537

Kevin Lowe: year of high school, turned 17 years old, and life was going good.

00:01:25.817 --> 00:01:29.377

Kevin Lowe: It was perfect for a teenager. In my junior year of high school.

00:01:29.697 --> 00:01:30.877

<v Speaker1>Things were going great.

00:01:31.037 --> 00:01:36.877

Kevin Lowe: Awesome group of friends had my dream truck that I had gotten when I turned that sweet 16.

00:01:37.477 --> 00:01:41.757

Kevin Lowe: Life was going amazing. And here it was, just an ordinary Friday.

00:01:42.297 --> 00:01:47.137

Kevin Lowe: Well, although it was kind of special because we were getting ready to do one

00:01:47.137 --> 00:01:48.617

Kevin Lowe: of my favorite weekend trips.

00:01:49.117 --> 00:01:54.137

Kevin Lowe: We were lucky enough to have one of those boats, the kind with a cabin that you can sleep in.

00:01:54.477 --> 00:01:55.437

<v Speaker1>And we were

00:01:55.437 --> 00:01:58.577

Kevin Lowe: Going to be taking it up to St. Augustine, Florida for the weekend.

00:01:59.177 --> 00:02:06.397

Kevin Lowe: Now, that trip means that Friday evening, my mom gets off of work. My stepdad's off work.

00:02:06.457 --> 00:02:07.877

<v Speaker1>We meet at the marina.

00:02:07.877 --> 00:02:12.637

Kevin Lowe: We board our boat, and we head up the intercoastal waterway.

00:02:12.817 --> 00:02:16.317

<v Speaker1>Headed north from our home here in Daytona Beach,

00:02:16.417 --> 00:02:22.497

Kevin Lowe: Florida, up to St. Augustine, Florida. A beautiful ride up the intercoastal waterway.

00:02:22.857 --> 00:02:28.257

Kevin Lowe: Like I said, one of my favorite trips. And the reason is because the marina

00:02:28.257 --> 00:02:30.337

Kevin Lowe: that we would stay at, it was the St.

00:02:30.377 --> 00:02:35.597

Kevin Lowe: Augustine Municipal Marina, located right at the base of the infamous St.

00:02:35.717 --> 00:02:42.097

Kevin Lowe: Augustine Bridge of Lions. the iconic bridge in this oldest city in the country.

00:02:42.377 --> 00:02:46.257

Kevin Lowe: Every time that we ever would go there, it was something special for me.

00:02:46.477 --> 00:02:51.657

Kevin Lowe: And so this was one of those awesome weekends, an amazing time.

00:02:51.677 --> 00:02:56.397

Kevin Lowe: And then everything changed because one of those moments happened.

00:02:57.401 --> 00:03:01.661

Kevin Lowe: As I said, maybe for you, it was a phone call, a text message.

00:03:01.661 --> 00:03:02.701

<v Speaker1>A moment in

00:03:02.701 --> 00:03:07.661

Kevin Lowe: Time when everything stopped. For me, I was down in the cabin of the boat.

00:03:07.781 --> 00:03:08.761

<v Speaker1>I was flipping through

00:03:08.761 --> 00:03:10.681

Kevin Lowe: A dirt bike magazine when.

00:03:10.681 --> 00:03:11.481

<v Speaker1>My mom came

00:03:11.481 --> 00:03:15.761

Kevin Lowe: Down and sat down across from me on the little dinette.

00:03:16.101 --> 00:03:22.021

Kevin Lowe: And she told me the news because what I didn't know is that my mom had been

00:03:22.021 --> 00:03:23.661

Kevin Lowe: holding on to something.

00:03:24.421 --> 00:03:25.141

<v Speaker1>She had got a

00:03:25.141 --> 00:03:28.121

Kevin Lowe: Really big phone call just a few hours before.

00:03:28.501 --> 00:03:29.841

<v Speaker1>She was on her way to

00:03:29.841 --> 00:03:35.001

Kevin Lowe: Meet me and my stepdad at the marina when she got a call from the doctor who

00:03:35.001 --> 00:03:37.561

Kevin Lowe: let her know that the results came in from the MRI.

00:03:38.321 --> 00:03:42.201

Kevin Lowe: And well, unfortunately, the results of the MRI.

00:03:42.501 --> 00:03:44.101

<v Speaker1>As the doctor would explain,

00:03:44.221 --> 00:03:49.281

Kevin Lowe: Were worse than he could have ever imagined. And so as I sat there in our boat.

00:03:49.481 --> 00:03:51.121

<v Speaker1>In this dream scenario,

00:03:51.801 --> 00:03:57.641

Kevin Lowe: This place that I dreamed of going, I loved being there, and yet everything turned upside down.

00:03:58.121 --> 00:04:01.621

<v Speaker1>As my mom told me the news, that I had a brain tumor.

00:04:02.281 --> 00:04:07.801

Kevin Lowe: Now, we would find out that it was luckily non-cancerous, but it was bad.

00:04:08.021 --> 00:04:12.421

Kevin Lowe: They compared the tumor to the size of a plum positioned right in the center

00:04:12.421 --> 00:04:17.081

Kevin Lowe: of my head. and literally due to its position, they said that I had at most

00:04:17.081 --> 00:04:20.101

Kevin Lowe: six months to live if this tumor was not removed.

00:04:21.341 --> 00:04:23.741

<v Speaker1>Now, at that moment in time,

00:04:24.281 --> 00:04:26.921

Kevin Lowe: My memory goes into little snapshots.

00:04:26.921 --> 00:04:28.061

<v Speaker1>And I can

00:04:28.061 --> 00:04:33.681

Kevin Lowe: Remember getting out of the boat. How I got out so quickly, I don't know because

00:04:33.681 --> 00:04:37.461

Kevin Lowe: the next memory I have is me just running down the dock,

00:04:38.121 --> 00:04:43.241

Kevin Lowe: as fast as I could, all the way down the dock to the top of the marina,

00:04:43.361 --> 00:04:48.581

Kevin Lowe: climbing the stairs, going all the way up until I was at the top of the marina.

00:04:49.506 --> 00:04:53.106

<v Speaker1>And there I stood with my arms on the metal railing,

00:04:53.226 --> 00:04:59.806

Kevin Lowe: Looking out over this picturesque scene of a marina full of sailboats and powerboats,

00:05:00.026 --> 00:05:02.186

Kevin Lowe: the sun setting in the distance.

00:05:03.306 --> 00:05:10.566

<v Speaker1>And there I stood in disbelief that I had a brain tumor. Now, I didn't even know

00:05:10.566 --> 00:05:11.546

Kevin Lowe: What was to come.

00:05:11.546 --> 00:05:13.406

<v Speaker1>And if you know my story,

00:05:13.666 --> 00:05:19.526

Kevin Lowe: You know that October 28th of that same year, October 28th, 2003,

00:05:19.846 --> 00:05:23.046

Kevin Lowe: is when I would go into surgery to have that brain tumor removed.

00:05:24.026 --> 00:05:26.226

Kevin Lowe: And everything was supposed to have gone great.

00:05:26.666 --> 00:05:30.186

<v Speaker1>And instead, well, I came out to be left completely blind.

00:05:30.666 --> 00:05:32.686

Kevin Lowe: I didn't know that at the time.

00:05:32.926 --> 00:05:37.826

<v Speaker1>All I did know, though, is that I had a brain tumor. And that was scary enough.

00:05:38.966 --> 00:05:44.546

Kevin Lowe: Now, I share that because we have all had these moments.

00:05:45.026 --> 00:05:47.826

Kevin Lowe: As a matter of fact, in life, we don't just have one of them.

00:05:48.266 --> 00:05:53.626

Kevin Lowe: Many times, unfortunately, we have many of these life-shattering moments,

00:05:53.746 --> 00:05:55.466

Kevin Lowe: or like I like to think of them.

00:05:55.746 --> 00:05:57.986

<v Speaker1>These moments when the world stops spinning.

00:05:58.426 --> 00:06:03.346

Kevin Lowe: And yes, the situation, the circumstances for each of us, they're all different, but.

00:06:04.117 --> 00:06:05.857

<v Speaker1>But the impact is all the same.

00:06:06.217 --> 00:06:10.917

Kevin Lowe: Matter of fact, the whole inspiration for today's episode, for today's topic.

00:06:11.197 --> 00:06:12.177

<v Speaker1>It came from a

00:06:12.177 --> 00:06:14.997

Kevin Lowe: Woman who I introduced to you just a few episodes ago.

00:06:15.257 --> 00:06:19.137

<v Speaker1>Her name was Wendy. And if you heard Wendy's story,

00:06:19.697 --> 00:06:25.057

Kevin Lowe: You heard that this moment, it happened on the side of a mountain, doing what she loved.

00:06:25.657 --> 00:06:29.357

<v Speaker1>Riding her bike, cycling, flying down the mountain,

00:06:29.797 --> 00:06:32.797

Kevin Lowe: Down the road, going faster and faster.

00:06:33.317 --> 00:06:37.497

<v Speaker1>Until all of a sudden the moment happened. And she crashed hard,

00:06:37.997 --> 00:06:43.077

Kevin Lowe: So hard, in fact, that she would have to be airlifted off the side of the mountain.

00:06:43.417 --> 00:06:44.577

<v Speaker1>And there she is.

00:06:44.757 --> 00:06:48.637

Kevin Lowe: In one second, she's doing what she loves. And in the next second,

00:06:48.797 --> 00:06:52.437

Kevin Lowe: she's shattered. She's broken, fighting for her life.

00:06:52.957 --> 00:06:54.177

<v Speaker1>Now, at this moment,

00:06:54.197 --> 00:06:59.217

Kevin Lowe: I want to pause. And I want to stop talking about me. And I want to stop talking about Wendy.

00:06:59.697 --> 00:07:02.457

Kevin Lowe: And I want to start talking about you.

00:07:03.297 --> 00:07:09.737

Kevin Lowe: because today's episode is about you. And I can guarantee that as I'm talking,

00:07:09.997 --> 00:07:14.377

Kevin Lowe: there's probably one particular thing that has happened in your life that.

00:07:14.377 --> 00:07:14.997

<v Speaker1>Comes to your

00:07:14.997 --> 00:07:16.237

Kevin Lowe: Mind immediately.

00:07:17.377 --> 00:07:19.277

<v Speaker1>And before we continue,

00:07:19.717 --> 00:07:25.897

Kevin Lowe: Before you continue listening to today's episode, I hope that you think of what that moment is.

00:07:26.157 --> 00:07:27.037

<v Speaker1>And I hope that

00:07:27.037 --> 00:07:28.537

Kevin Lowe: You put it at the front of your mind.

00:07:28.957 --> 00:07:30.217

<v Speaker1>Now, I know it's not

00:07:30.217 --> 00:07:35.097

Kevin Lowe: Always easy to think about these hard times, But sometimes I feel like it's

00:07:35.097 --> 00:07:40.177

Kevin Lowe: necessary in order for us to be able to move forward, for us to be able to really

00:07:40.177 --> 00:07:43.697

Kevin Lowe: harness the lessons that life was meant to teach us.

00:07:44.017 --> 00:07:48.217

<v Speaker1>And right now for today's topic, I want you to think about whatever

00:07:48.217 --> 00:07:49.157

Kevin Lowe: That moment was.

00:07:49.497 --> 00:07:54.717

<v Speaker1>That moment when your world stopped spinning. Whether we're talking about me

00:07:54.717 --> 00:07:57.557

<v Speaker1>being diagnosed with a brain tumor, whether we're talking

00:07:57.557 --> 00:08:00.317

Kevin Lowe: About Wendy crashing on her bicycle.

00:08:01.327 --> 00:08:04.367

<v Speaker1>The emotions we all feel, they're all the same.

00:08:04.607 --> 00:08:09.107

Kevin Lowe: Because no matter how different any of us may be, we're all still the same.

00:08:09.307 --> 00:08:12.267

<v Speaker1>We're all just people trying to make it in life.

00:08:12.447 --> 00:08:17.767

<v Speaker1>So when these instances occur, we all feel scared. We're worried.

00:08:17.927 --> 00:08:21.307

Kevin Lowe: We're anxious. We're fearful. We're upset. We're angry.

00:08:21.547 --> 00:08:25.167

<v Speaker1>We don't understand why. Why me? Why this?

00:08:25.287 --> 00:08:25.887

Kevin Lowe: Why now?

00:08:26.327 --> 00:08:28.087

<v Speaker1>None of it makes any sense.

00:08:28.087 --> 00:08:34.207

Kevin Lowe: What's powerful about Wendy was that her story, I believe, though,

00:08:34.687 --> 00:08:39.107

Kevin Lowe: it has the power to help us all with our own situation.

00:08:39.367 --> 00:08:41.567

<v Speaker1>With our own life-shattering moment.

00:08:42.087 --> 00:08:46.927

Kevin Lowe: Because here's the thing that I want you to remember, is that whenever life knocks you down.

00:08:47.267 --> 00:08:48.007

<v Speaker1>Whether in the

00:08:48.007 --> 00:08:49.207

Kevin Lowe: Past or in the future.

00:08:49.547 --> 00:08:50.527

<v Speaker1>There's one thing

00:08:50.527 --> 00:08:53.647

Kevin Lowe: That nobody ever tells you. And that is that you.

00:08:53.767 --> 00:08:57.027

<v Speaker1>My friend, you have a choice when life happens.

00:08:57.707 --> 00:09:02.207

Kevin Lowe: And yes, I understand that at times like this, it may feel like you don't have a choice.

00:09:02.407 --> 00:09:04.887

<v Speaker1>But you do. You may not be able

00:09:04.887 --> 00:09:11.027

Kevin Lowe: To choose what happens in this life. I certainly did not get to choose whether.

00:09:11.027 --> 00:09:11.427

<v Speaker1>Or not I

00:09:11.427 --> 00:09:12.227

Kevin Lowe: Had a brain tumor.

00:09:12.427 --> 00:09:13.427

<v Speaker1>But you know what I

00:09:13.427 --> 00:09:18.667

Kevin Lowe: Did get to choose was how I reacted to it. I didn't get to choose to become

00:09:18.667 --> 00:09:24.307

Kevin Lowe: blind, but I did get to choose how I would react to it, what I would do with it.

00:09:24.307 --> 00:09:29.227

Kevin Lowe: Now, that doesn't mean that I have never been upset. My goodness gracious, no.

00:09:29.687 --> 00:09:34.967

Kevin Lowe: To this day, I will tell you that becoming blind has been the worst thing that

00:09:34.967 --> 00:09:38.407

Kevin Lowe: I could ever imagine because everything was taken from me.

00:09:38.687 --> 00:09:40.967

Kevin Lowe: And yet, where I stand today.

00:09:41.407 --> 00:09:45.267

<v Speaker1>Being able to have the benefit of traveling down the roadways,

00:09:45.587 --> 00:09:48.647

Kevin Lowe: I can look back and be grateful that.

00:09:48.647 --> 00:09:49.487

<v Speaker1>God chose me

00:09:49.487 --> 00:09:54.967

Kevin Lowe: To be the one to go through it. because I've learned so much.

00:09:54.967 --> 00:09:56.007

<v Speaker1>And I hope

00:09:56.007 --> 00:10:00.947

Kevin Lowe: And I pray that because of what I've gone through, I get to make an impact on others' lives.

00:10:01.187 --> 00:10:02.767

<v Speaker1>Maybe on your life today.

00:10:03.893 --> 00:10:09.453

Kevin Lowe: And just the same with Wendy is that in the days and weeks following her accident.

00:10:09.733 --> 00:10:12.293

<v Speaker1>She could have given up. Nobody would have

00:10:12.293 --> 00:10:16.993

Kevin Lowe: Blamed her if she had thrown in the towel on life because things were unfair.

00:10:17.413 --> 00:10:23.593

Kevin Lowe: Things were unraveling around her and nobody would have judged her if she hadn't been strong.

00:10:23.833 --> 00:10:28.613

Kevin Lowe: And yet she was because Wendy chose to do something with it,

00:10:28.853 --> 00:10:34.533

Kevin Lowe: to pursue her dreams, to pursue her life in spite of it all.

00:10:34.693 --> 00:10:36.073

<v Speaker1>If you heard her story,

00:10:36.273 --> 00:10:40.733

Kevin Lowe: You would know that Wendy, she chose to fight. She committed herself to healing,

00:10:41.073 --> 00:10:45.653

Kevin Lowe: to fighting back and to regaining control of her life.

00:10:46.053 --> 00:10:50.953

Kevin Lowe: Now, when we're talking about fighting, fighting back, here's the thing that's

00:10:50.953 --> 00:10:52.653

Kevin Lowe: really powerful that I want you to remember.

00:10:53.573 --> 00:10:57.473

Kevin Lowe: Sometimes fighting, it doesn't look like you holding on tighter,

00:10:57.513 --> 00:11:02.993

Kevin Lowe: but instead it looks like you letting go. I want to repeat that because I want

00:11:02.993 --> 00:11:04.313

Kevin Lowe: you to really hear me clearly.

00:11:04.873 --> 00:11:09.633

Kevin Lowe: That sometimes when we're talking about fighting, when we're talking about pursuing,

00:11:10.013 --> 00:11:15.273

Kevin Lowe: when we're talking about regaining control, we oftentimes think that we have

00:11:15.273 --> 00:11:18.393

Kevin Lowe: to hold on tight, that we have to fight with all our might.

00:11:18.513 --> 00:11:19.733

<v Speaker1>But sometimes the way

00:11:19.733 --> 00:11:20.333

Kevin Lowe: We do that.

00:11:20.333 --> 00:11:21.553

<v Speaker1>Is by letting go.

00:11:21.973 --> 00:11:27.433

Kevin Lowe: That, my friend, is where grace comes into the picture. to have grace,

00:11:27.433 --> 00:11:30.773

Kevin Lowe: to have this idea that it's okay.

00:11:31.313 --> 00:11:35.373

Kevin Lowe: Because sometimes the strongest thing we can do is to just let go.

00:11:35.633 --> 00:11:39.873

Kevin Lowe: Because if we never have the courage or the strength to let go,

00:11:40.153 --> 00:11:44.913

Kevin Lowe: then oftentimes we'll never get to understand what lies on the other side.

00:11:45.173 --> 00:11:47.813

Kevin Lowe: Because if we keep holding on to what was.

00:11:48.053 --> 00:11:48.993

<v Speaker1>Then we never

00:11:48.993 --> 00:11:53.573

Kevin Lowe: Open our heart and our mind to get to see what tomorrow holds.

00:11:53.893 --> 00:11:55.293

<v Speaker1>And just like Wendy,

00:11:55.893 --> 00:11:59.713

Kevin Lowe: She finally realized that she had to surrender. She had to let go.

00:11:59.913 --> 00:12:02.933

Kevin Lowe: She had to trust the process of life.

00:12:03.213 --> 00:12:09.373

Kevin Lowe: She finally would let go of holding on so tightly to what was so that she could

00:12:09.373 --> 00:12:10.733

Kevin Lowe: embark on something new.

00:12:10.953 --> 00:12:12.933

Kevin Lowe: That is easier said than done.

00:12:13.433 --> 00:12:16.153

Kevin Lowe: Trust me when I tell you that I've gone through it in my own life.

00:12:16.533 --> 00:12:17.493

<v Speaker1>Holding on to

00:12:17.493 --> 00:12:24.133

Kevin Lowe: The life that I had, a life of sight, a life of riding dirt bikes and driving.

00:12:24.933 --> 00:12:27.853

<v Speaker1>A life of seeing the blue sky.

00:12:28.293 --> 00:12:35.353

Kevin Lowe: A life of seeing the faces of my family. And for so very long, I held on to that life.

00:12:35.613 --> 00:12:36.613

<v Speaker1>And all I

00:12:36.613 --> 00:12:38.773

Kevin Lowe: Wanted was to be able to see again.

00:12:39.113 --> 00:12:45.153

<v Speaker1>I wanted my life back. Until one day, and it was many, many years down the line,

00:12:45.593 --> 00:12:53.713

Kevin Lowe: Better part of about 10 years later, was I able to come to a point myself when I was ready to let go.

00:12:54.133 --> 00:12:55.093

<v Speaker1>I was ready

00:12:55.093 --> 00:13:01.813

Kevin Lowe: To finally let go of that life of sight in pursuit of learning to see life in a new way.

00:13:02.642 --> 00:13:04.322

Kevin Lowe: And I have to wonder.

00:13:04.342 --> 00:13:07.682

<v Speaker1>For you, maybe is that what you needed to hear?

00:13:08.542 --> 00:13:14.602

Kevin Lowe: Because where in your life do you maybe need to stop fighting so hard?

00:13:14.802 --> 00:13:18.382

Kevin Lowe: Where in your life do you maybe need to just let go?

00:13:18.942 --> 00:13:22.022

Kevin Lowe: Nobody ever said that life was going to be easy.

00:13:22.662 --> 00:13:24.302

Kevin Lowe: No, definitely not.

00:13:24.502 --> 00:13:25.882

<v Speaker1>But in the same regard,

00:13:26.202 --> 00:13:31.322

Kevin Lowe: I think sometimes we make it worse on ourselves. by trying to hold on to things

00:13:31.322 --> 00:13:33.982

Kevin Lowe: that were meant to be let go.

00:13:34.322 --> 00:13:36.342

<v Speaker1>We're meant to keep moving forward.

00:13:36.502 --> 00:13:41.702

Kevin Lowe: If we look at our lives like a book, if we constantly keep writing on the same

00:13:41.702 --> 00:13:44.802

Kevin Lowe: page, then it all becomes cluttered.

00:13:44.922 --> 00:13:45.742

<v Speaker1>If we keep

00:13:45.742 --> 00:13:50.862

Kevin Lowe: Writing on the same line, then it all gets mixed up. Nothing makes any sense.

00:13:51.802 --> 00:13:54.302

Kevin Lowe: Sometimes we just simply need.

00:13:54.302 --> 00:13:54.762

<v Speaker1>To be able

00:13:54.762 --> 00:13:58.722

Kevin Lowe: To turn the page and we have a fresh new page to begin writing.

00:13:58.782 --> 00:14:02.402

Kevin Lowe: That's just like your life. Sometimes you.

00:14:02.402 --> 00:14:03.042

<v Speaker1>Just need to

00:14:03.042 --> 00:14:05.602

Kevin Lowe: Simply come to a point where.

00:14:05.602 --> 00:14:06.502

<v Speaker1>You can finally

00:14:06.502 --> 00:14:13.282

Kevin Lowe: Let go and turn the page. Now, another powerful lesson that I learned from Wendy

00:14:13.282 --> 00:14:16.022

Kevin Lowe: in listening to her story and.

00:14:16.022 --> 00:14:16.622

<v Speaker1>To think about

00:14:16.622 --> 00:14:21.002

Kevin Lowe: My story and to think about anybody else's stories, yours included,

00:14:21.502 --> 00:14:27.142

Kevin Lowe: is that so many times we keep thinking that we have to get back to where we were.

00:14:27.142 --> 00:14:32.122

Kevin Lowe: What do I have to do to get my life back?

00:14:32.482 --> 00:14:34.482

<v Speaker1>We just want our life back.

00:14:34.782 --> 00:14:41.262

Kevin Lowe: But the fact is true, just kind of like I said earlier, that was then. This is now.

00:14:41.542 --> 00:14:45.502

Kevin Lowe: We are not the same person that we were back then.

00:14:45.522 --> 00:14:46.682

<v Speaker1>We've grown.

00:14:47.062 --> 00:14:48.662

Kevin Lowe: We've had stuff happen.

00:14:48.902 --> 00:14:54.742

<v Speaker1>We are different people, constantly evolving, growing, becoming bigger and better

00:14:54.742 --> 00:15:00.582

Kevin Lowe: Versions of ourselves. And that is where this idea of reinvention comes into play.

00:15:00.762 --> 00:15:06.302

Kevin Lowe: And when we think about reinvention, it's not returning to the person we were.

00:15:06.582 --> 00:15:09.102

Kevin Lowe: It's instead about becoming who.

00:15:09.102 --> 00:15:09.702

<v Speaker1>You were always

00:15:09.702 --> 00:15:14.602

Kevin Lowe: Meant to be. For Wendy, she had to finally let go of what she thought her life

00:15:14.602 --> 00:15:15.882

Kevin Lowe: was supposed to look like.

00:15:16.302 --> 00:15:19.302

<v Speaker1>She had to be willing to embrace something new,

00:15:19.482 --> 00:15:24.622

Kevin Lowe: Something different. And if you think about it, that's the real challenge of

00:15:24.622 --> 00:15:30.042

Kevin Lowe: it all. because when life doesn't match our plans, it's easy to stay stuck grieving,

00:15:30.782 --> 00:15:32.622

Kevin Lowe: wondering what could have been.

00:15:33.484 --> 00:15:41.064

Kevin Lowe: So instead, what I like to do is I like to think on the positive. Is what if, just what if.

00:15:41.244 --> 00:15:42.224

<v Speaker1>What lies

00:15:42.224 --> 00:15:44.044

Kevin Lowe: Ahead is better.

00:15:44.044 --> 00:15:50.804

<v Speaker1>Than what we're leaving behind? What I mean is, what if the very thing that we're mourning,

00:15:51.064 --> 00:15:53.784

Kevin Lowe: That we're so upset about, the thing that we want to get back to,

00:15:54.024 --> 00:15:55.564

Kevin Lowe: the life that we want back.

00:15:55.784 --> 00:15:59.344

<v Speaker1>What if it wasn't meant to stay? We weren't meant

00:15:59.344 --> 00:16:02.744

Kevin Lowe: To stay in the same chapter year after year.

00:16:03.444 --> 00:16:05.984

<v Speaker1>No, if we think of our lives

00:16:05.984 --> 00:16:10.064

Kevin Lowe: As a book, once again, a book is comprised of chapters, of pages.

00:16:10.564 --> 00:16:12.564

<v Speaker1>And if we don't ever turn the page,

00:16:12.664 --> 00:16:14.004

Kevin Lowe: If we don't ever start in a chapter.

00:16:14.384 --> 00:16:16.204

<v Speaker1>The story never progresses.

00:16:16.704 --> 00:16:21.604

Kevin Lowe: And so when you think of it from this positive, that just what if the future

00:16:21.604 --> 00:16:27.644

Kevin Lowe: that you've been resisting is actually the future that you've been dreaming of?

00:16:28.204 --> 00:16:31.884

Kevin Lowe: And now I get it. Change is scary.

00:16:32.444 --> 00:16:35.144

<v Speaker1>But you know what's even scarier than change?

00:16:35.364 --> 00:16:38.384

Kevin Lowe: It's staying stuck in a life that no longer fits you.

00:16:38.564 --> 00:16:39.504

<v Speaker1>And that is

00:16:39.504 --> 00:16:43.964

Kevin Lowe: Where sometimes the bravest action any of us can take is releasing our grip

00:16:43.964 --> 00:16:50.544

Kevin Lowe: on the past, to stop holding on to what was, and to instead begin embracing

00:16:50.544 --> 00:16:53.164

Kevin Lowe: and get excited about what is to be.

00:16:53.644 --> 00:16:57.544

Kevin Lowe: To wrap up today's episode, what I want you to remember is this.

00:16:58.024 --> 00:17:02.284

Kevin Lowe: Your pain does not define you, but your response does.

00:17:02.764 --> 00:17:07.164

Kevin Lowe: I spoke about it earlier that we can't always decide what happens in this life,

00:17:07.304 --> 00:17:10.024

Kevin Lowe: but we can always decide how we respond to it.

00:17:10.384 --> 00:17:14.704

Kevin Lowe: That's what I'm talking about. I also want you to realize that you don't always

00:17:14.704 --> 00:17:18.044

Kevin Lowe: have to have all the answers. All you have to do is take the first step.

00:17:18.624 --> 00:17:24.724

Kevin Lowe: You don't have to have the courage and the bravery to figure it all out,

00:17:24.884 --> 00:17:26.404

Kevin Lowe: to know exactly where you're going.

00:17:27.084 --> 00:17:31.284

Kevin Lowe: No, you just have to have the courage to take the first step.

00:17:31.904 --> 00:17:36.764

Kevin Lowe: Because once you take that first step, then the second step, the third step.

00:17:36.844 --> 00:17:37.824

<v Speaker1>They keep getting

00:17:37.824 --> 00:17:44.904

Kevin Lowe: A little bit easier as you go along. But you have to be willing to at least take that first step.

00:17:45.244 --> 00:17:47.264

<v Speaker1>And when we speak about reinvention,

00:17:47.544 --> 00:17:51.564

Kevin Lowe: I want you to remember, this isn't about losing who you were.

00:17:52.164 --> 00:17:56.304

Kevin Lowe: No, it's about you becoming who you were always meant to be.

00:17:56.984 --> 00:18:01.624

Kevin Lowe: So if there is one thing that you can let go of today.

00:18:02.064 --> 00:18:05.824

<v Speaker1>One fear, one regret, one big moment

00:18:05.824 --> 00:18:11.704

Kevin Lowe: In your life that you've been holding on to so tightly, and the fact is true

00:18:11.704 --> 00:18:13.884

Kevin Lowe: is that you really need to just let it go.

00:18:14.304 --> 00:18:20.044

<v Speaker1>Releasing you of that burden, tying you down, letting it loose,

00:18:20.784 --> 00:18:22.924

Kevin Lowe: Giving you an opportunity to

00:18:22.924 --> 00:18:27.784

Kevin Lowe: finally get to discover what else is awaiting for you on the other side.

00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:32.039

Kevin Lowe: And with that, my friend, I wrap up today's episode.

00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:37.939

Kevin Lowe: Remember, I have new episodes that come out every single Tuesday and Thursday morning.

00:18:38.459 --> 00:18:41.579

Kevin Lowe: So if you have not already started

00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:46.659

Kevin Lowe: following the podcast on your favorite app, we'll definitely do so.

00:18:46.899 --> 00:18:51.179

Kevin Lowe: Whether that's Apple Podcasts, Spotify, you name it, it is there.

00:18:51.439 --> 00:18:58.319

Kevin Lowe: So easy place to find it is head on over to the website, GritGraceInspiration.com.

00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:03.799

Kevin Lowe: Right there, you can find a page where you can find easy access to any and all

00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:07.879

Kevin Lowe: of the different podcast apps that you might like to listen to the podcast on.

00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:12.399

Kevin Lowe: Be sure you click onto your favorite, hit that little follow button so that

00:19:12.399 --> 00:19:16.599

Kevin Lowe: you are notified every Tuesday and Thursday when a new episode is released.

00:19:16.599 --> 00:19:19.899

Kevin Lowe: And hey, while you're at the website, also go.

00:19:19.899 --> 00:19:20.519

<v Speaker1>Ahead and be sure

00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.019

Kevin Lowe: That you get on the mailing list where.

00:19:23.019 --> 00:19:23.659

<v Speaker1>You can start

00:19:23.659 --> 00:19:29.179

Kevin Lowe: Receiving the weekly newsletter for the podcast called Where Grit Meets Grace,

00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:32.459

Kevin Lowe: delivered to your inbox each and every Friday morning.

00:19:32.779 --> 00:19:35.259

Kevin Lowe: So, my friend, that is it for today.

00:19:35.619 --> 00:19:39.459

Kevin Lowe: Get out there. Enjoy this day. And hey, more than anything else,

00:19:39.739 --> 00:19:44.059

Kevin Lowe: figure out what it is that you need to let go of and just let it go.

00:19:44.080 --> 00:20:04.391

<Music>