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Ep 20: What Are You Listening To? How Music Shapes Our Minds, Moods & Moves
24 Plays18 days ago
What if rest—not hustle—is the key to creativity? In this episode of the Aligned Living Podcast, Dr. Autumn sits down with Nashville-based artist Wes Harris to talk music, healing, and living with intention. From growing up as a pastor’s kid to using music as a tool for emotional and other forms of holistic wellness, Wes shares how he's learned to say “no” with purpose, embrace stillness, and protect his peace while navigating the demands of a creative life. They dive into the emotional impact of lyrics, the tension between sacred and secular music, and what it really means to live aligned.
Intro and Outro Music Credit: Savage by Beat Mekanik, Free Music Archive, License type: CC BY
Please visit: www.autumnswain.com
Contact: autumn@thealignedleader.org
IG: @drautumnswain
FB: Autumn Alena Swain
Guest info:
https://sociatap.com/imwesharris/
Find Wes Harris on all your listening platforms including Apple Music and Spotify
IG: @imwesharris
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Align Living Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
Hello there, I'm Dr. Autumn, leadership consultant, wellness coach, author, and I'm incredibly grateful to be your host of the Align Living podcast.
00:00:19
Speaker
I'm here to equip you with the tools, inspiration, and practical tips necessary to lead a life of wholeness and pursue greater shalom in your life and that of your families, teams, and communities.
00:00:34
Speaker
My mission is to empower you to lead from a place of holistic wellbeing. It's time to say, peace out to the fatigue, fog, and frustration of living in a place that lacks abundant wellbeing.
00:00:49
Speaker
Join me as we embark on a comprehensive exploration of spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social, and economic well-being, all within the comforting embrace of one podcast.
00:01:09
Speaker
Hey,
Guest Introduction: Wes Harris
00:01:10
Speaker
good people. a Dr. Autumn here. Welcome to the Align Living Podcast. I am super excited today to be interviewing my guest, Wes Harris.
00:01:20
Speaker
um I'll tell you ah in a minute how i met him, but Wes is an incredibly talented artist, songwriter, producer, does it all. um But what was so interesting to me is when he was sharing with me how he paints with sound,
00:01:36
Speaker
which, you know, I love meeting creative people and learning how like God just like instills different gifts and talents in us. And just seeing how he has shared this with the world is one of the reasons I wanted to bring him on today. But Wes is now based in Nashville. And what makes his music unique is blending these inspirational lyrics, which I love, and I'll tell you a little bit more about how music's impacted me in a minute, um but blending that with this fresh creative edge. And so, um of course, we'll make sure in the show notes to include lots of links and whatnot so you could find them and hear his stuff. But um I'm really excited with what we're going to talk about today. You might be asking yourself,
00:02:17
Speaker
um why talk about music on a podcast that has to do with aligned living and the pursuit of wholeness and health and
Impact of Music on Wellbeing
00:02:25
Speaker
wellness. But to be honest, anything we take into our bodies is impacting us in some holistic way.
00:02:31
Speaker
And so I'm really looking forward to you guys getting to hear from him on just his inspiration by behind the music that he writes and produces and and all the things and so um actually interestingly enough uh i um relate to wes on a couple fronts because we wear multiple hats and i actually met him um through an organization where um we're just on mission to love god and love our neighbors which is really cool so when i discovered that he has this whole other part of his life called music and i was just super super excited to learn more and so
00:03:08
Speaker
um would that be With that being said, ah thanks for being on the show, Wes. Yes, thanks, Dr. Adam, for having me. It's definitely an honor to be here Looking forward to just connecting with your followers and talking about one of my favorite things today. So yeah, stoked.
00:03:23
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. Awesome. um So yes, just start out by telling us a bit about your background. And what I love to hear um from guests is like, what led you to where you are today?
00:03:37
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So I grew up in a house as a pastor's kid, me and my sister. Creativity was something that was always just around us. My dad was a DJ growing up and he does a lot of like graphic design. And my mom, she did hair for a long time. So, you know, a lot of my life I just saw it.
00:03:59
Speaker
just different creative avenues. My sister ended up taking photography and music was kind of like my sport, you know, like I was never really athletic or anything, but music was what I just kind of transcended in well. So yeah, I started with poetry, learned how to make beats like on a, like one of my first Apple computers in middle school. then it just really turned into like, oh, like I can,
00:04:24
Speaker
I can speak languages and and break through barriers with this this gift called music. So yeah, it's been with me ever since. I love that so much because think about, like in my opinion, you know God created all of us in his image. So we all have gifts to share with this world, but many times we don't. They just like sit dormant and we're not able to use them to bless people um around us. so thank you for taking what you noticed as a teenager, it sounds like, or a kid and just like...
00:04:53
Speaker
you know, pursuing it, like actually saying yes. And like, because ah even though music's creative, like it's entrepreneurial because you got to get it out there. And so, yeah, thank you for taking that next step for sure, for sure. So um can you just expand upon your story a little bit and tell us um what life experiences you would say have shaped you most in your journey so far because you've taken a genre hip hop and just integrated like lyrics that are, you know, so inspirational. Like, um yeah. So tell tell tell us a little bit about that and how you arrived there.
00:05:28
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I've gone through a lot of things in life. I think like my biggest struggle growing up as a young person was probably just having like an identity crisis, you know, like knowing I come from the church, but all also wanting to fit in and
Music and Emotional Regulation
00:05:45
Speaker
liking different types of music from, you know, like folk to jazz to pop and just kind of like,
00:05:52
Speaker
feeling like a creative mutt, if you will. I never really felt like I belonged anywhere. So I've always kind of been a misfit, but music has been something that, you know, I could use to not only express myself, but also just kind of like a a sonic journal.
00:06:08
Speaker
So it's definitely, you know, something that shaped me and something that you can just let yourself feel go freely through, but it's also beautiful because then you, you know, you put out a song or you see where it goes and, you know, you hear the the response from people like, oh, I really needed that or people who relate. So it's definitely been a journey to get to where I am, but I always like to say progress is a process.
00:06:35
Speaker
Yeah, I love it. It sure is. It sure is. Okay, so I'm going to just jump right in and ask you a bit about how you feel. like Because I could talk from ah you know as a health coach and a nerd in like understanding the body, like how I...
00:06:52
Speaker
i you know perceive music to impact us but i um i'm gonna set the stage here with with a couple things and then just have you i want to hear from like someone who actually is in the music industry your view your soapbox like unfiltered on how you think music impacts us so i i want to just start by saying like my opinion is that i feel like music does have a huge influence over us um you know, I'm not going to go into my deep theology on this, but like honestly, like music's been around before human creation. So um and, you know, if you think about it spiritual impact, but from a physiological perspective as well, like I feel like how God designed us like music can like regulate our stress and our anxiety based on what we're putting in our bodies, like our nervous system
00:07:46
Speaker
responds to music by releasing neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. I feel like nowadays people are hearing these terms more because, you know, the whole dopamine dysregulation of people checking their phones. And we've actually talked about that too, like so put your phone away for a minute so you're not constantly being bombarded with these artificial dopamine.
00:08:04
Speaker
Yeah. burst But anyways, but music could could help regular nervous nervous system in ah in a healthy way and promoting calm and and happiness and joy. Right. But that's that's more positive, inspirational music. Like it often makes me wonder, like what if we're we're constantly putting because music so powerful, like maybe not so.
00:08:23
Speaker
positive music in us, like, what can that do? Like, I kind of want to have this conversation with you. But I did want to point out one other thing that I discovered in my research is you know, music improves brain function and emotional regulation. OK, because I think I could tie a lot of the issues that we're so you seeing in today's society with lack of self-control around finances or food or whatever it might be.
00:08:46
Speaker
this conversation on emotional regulation. So it's fascinating to think that if God created our bodies where music can activate multiple areas of our brain, including those responsible for memory and emotions and decision making. okay Decision making. That's huge, right? Because how many times we use music for good or for bad. So I mean, it to me, it's just such a big thing. Like, so as a musician, someone passionate about music, can you tell me your thoughts on like how you feel music impacts her well-being? Like, can it ever just be neutral, like based on what we're listening Because there's a lot of stuff out there. Let's be real.
00:09:23
Speaker
Like a lot of positive, a lot of negative and maybe some stuff in between. So, yeah, have the floor. Yeah, absolutely. I think music definitely, you know, you know, affects us whether we realize it or not. i think there's so many songs where ah if you read it, you would be disturbed, but listening to it, you would be comforted because music is, i don't know, like,
00:09:46
Speaker
music has the ability to kind of be like water, like it's, it's fluid and it can change shape depending on what, what vessel you put it into. So I think, i think it's very like ah just intricate and it can be used as a, as a weapon, you know, depending on who's creating with the music. So, you know, I think there's a reason why like, you know, ancient tribes in Africa used to communicate through drums and like low vibrations and,
00:10:15
Speaker
You know, there's certain responses that you have, you know, where there's goosebumps or your hair standing up because music is a language. And I think that oftentimes it's just a language that you don't really understand.
00:10:26
Speaker
I don't know, perceive, because it kind of can communicate through so many different avenues. But I think music is also a tool because you know growing up for me, like I wasn't the smartest in school, but one of the things I did was I make raps to pass math tests. And I knew that there was power in like repetition. So you know finding out you know different things that rhyme and how I can fit them in cadences that helped me because when you can recall those things to memory, you know, music can do things that like a normal lecture wouldn't do.
00:10:58
Speaker
So yeah, I definitely think it's powerful. And that that's another topic in itself for sure. For sure. Okay. So, well, um i just, i want to go a little deeper here because i feel like I personally struggle with this a little
Mindful Music Consumption
00:11:14
Speaker
bit. Like,
00:11:16
Speaker
because i listen to a lot of inspirational music, a lot of faith inspired music, but i so I listen to also artists that are um that are not ah necessarily like in the Christian genre, not singing about God or not singing about faith or growth or whatever, um but I don't do it too much.
00:11:37
Speaker
And I try to find this balance because I struggle with perfectionism. So I'm like, I don't want to feel guilty, but at the same time, there's something powerful about being mindful of what we put in our minds, right? So I mean, we're like, okay, first of all, like, what are some of your artists that have inspired you? No no matter what genre, whatever whatever they sing about doesn't matter. I'm just kind of curious.
00:12:03
Speaker
And then also, like, what drove you to write the lyrics that you write, because they really are inspiring? Thank you. i appreciate that. I'm looking up a note because always, when I'm asked this question, I always kind of like blink out.
00:12:19
Speaker
um Yeah, I don't listen. I listen to a lot of artists, some Christians, some not. um I think one of the the hardest conversations in music is like the conversation of sacred versus secular. Like in some ways it matters, but in in other ways, like I think as long as it like the fruit that's you know bearing in your life isn't like making you you know become something you don't want to be, i think it's just a sticky topic. You know what I mean? It's like when you call a firefighter to put out a fire,
00:12:53
Speaker
You want that person to just be capable. You don't care if he's Jewish, if he's a Christian, you know, a Buddhist. But when it comes to to Christians, I think we can be so ah just specific within like the the content to where like we're calling the artist to be more of a ah preacher or a prophet, but not like looking at that from like, you know, like a normal pastor. So I think it's kind of like an unfair thing.
00:13:20
Speaker
um comparison when it comes to to art. um Yeah, ah yeah, yeah. No, that's good. i love hearing I love hearing it from the perspective and of an artist. um And actually, it's interesting because i was listening to the podcast Mavs on the Mic because I'm a big fan of Maverick City Music.
00:13:37
Speaker
They interviewed Dante Bowie, which I like him because he's just he's just real. Like i know there was some controversy around his life, but like, i mean, his his music, he was pointing out he's like, there's a difference between just artists who are who are making music and want to sing about things that are real to their life and faith in God versus a worship leader.
00:13:59
Speaker
Like it's two completely different arenas that sometimes, like you said, like get sticky because people try to like interweave these things just because you have a song about God, you know, you're you you just might be just a very like, you know, gifted artist that's just choosing to sing about certain things.
00:14:17
Speaker
And and to not confuse that with the difference with like an actual worship leader. So I think that was a really, really valid point. And I feel like you're kind of talking about that, too. Like, you know, um but OK, so so, OK, let's let's go a little deeper here then. OK, so I like what you said.
00:14:34
Speaker
um when it comes to health and wellness in general, what we meditate on ah can become our reality. Like I'm a big fan of Dr. Caroline Lee. She literally just I think she is is about to release a book actually on this, like what you think about you bring about. Right.
00:14:51
Speaker
um And so so there's a lot of truth to that, even in the Bible. It talks about like as a man think it's so so is his heart. Right. Proverbs um wisdom, book of what wisdom or whatever you want to call it. But anyways, I want to talk about this for a second because One of the reasons I think music is so powerful is because we meditate on it.
00:15:15
Speaker
I like a song. I listen to it over and over, like maybe not the same day, but I was like, I listened to you listen to these songs multiple times. Right. And in meditation at its core is focused attention. It's sustained thinking and reflecting on something. So um it can have a powerful impact on our minds and our bodies and our souls like.
00:15:35
Speaker
if we're meditating on something good or meditating on something bad, right? We meditate on something good. It could transform our mind and align us with truth. And, um you know, just it could shape our desires, our habits, strengthen emotional resilience. Like, I feel like there's so much positive that could come from, you know, the difference with music versus maybe just like reading a book is you read a book once music. You're like,
00:16:00
Speaker
in it, like you're listening. So, so on the flip side, okay. If you're meditating on things that aren't so helpful, it could feed fear and anxiety, even lies or narratives like false narratives that, um, could, you know, even foster up some like bitterness or like envy or just different, you know, um, you talked about identity, distorting identity. Like, so I guess, um, I would like to think that,
00:16:29
Speaker
music can just be neutral sometimes. But what what is your take on that? What is your take on like?
00:16:39
Speaker
Music and its impact in the way of like the fact that we do put that that into our our head and our hearts so much throughout a given day.
00:16:51
Speaker
Like, you know, how can a person, what would be your advice to somebody who kind of struggles with that? Like is negatively impacted by some of the music that they're listening to?
00:17:02
Speaker
i think one of the biggest things is kind of just doing your homework, you know, like knowing who you're listening to ah more than ah song passing the vibe check.
00:17:13
Speaker
does it pass the lyric check? You know, I think there's so many songs that are beautiful, but if you read them, like the lyrics are filled with poison. So it's like, ah you know, the attention can be wept.
00:17:26
Speaker
the The attention can be poor, but you don't know it because it's so it's ah it's a gold apple, but it's rotten and and inside of it. So I think one of the biggest things is just like knowing who's the who the artist is, you'd like knowing what they believe in. Like there's one song i was listening to called Alter a while ago and I looked it up and um the song was beautiful. It was just felt like a love song, but I read the lyrics and it was like,
00:17:50
Speaker
ah like the same verbiage from a cult that I found and I didn't even know it. So it's there's just so many things that um can come off as
Creative Processes and Inspirations
00:18:00
Speaker
like innocent. But, you know, the Bible talks about, ah you know, being innocent like a dove. But I think it's what is it violent, like a serpent or something like that.
00:18:09
Speaker
So it's just like really just kind of like knowing what you're listening to. And it's OK if it's like doesn't have a Christian tag on it. But even if it doesn't, like what good is this going to cause? Because there's a lot of songs I listen to that are, you know, like this love songs, R&B or like even if it's jazz, like that's stuff I like to listen to often. and But sometimes i have to like.
00:18:31
Speaker
double check because it's like, is if this was to turn into a tree, would it be a tree of you know beautiful fruit, mangoes and strawberries, or you know would this be venom and something that's toxic to me?
00:18:43
Speaker
And I think that, like you said, what you think about, you become and what you meditate on, It'll eventually become action and a habit, you know, ah peed into a lifestyle. So just have to be careful with what you're allowing into your eye gates and your ear gates, because I think music, though you don't see it, you can see it inwardly when it you know enters your ears.
00:19:06
Speaker
Yeah, for sure, for sure. um And so I, i do want to ask you actually a little bit about the whole um ah seeing music as color painting with music, like the color music association. That's intriguing. I because we've mentioned it at the beginning, and I don't want to leave listeners like, Oh, what's that about? But it just in in talking about what what you were mentioning just now about music, um and being mindful of what fruit is producing, I think it's easy for sometimes people to say, well, like,
00:19:34
Speaker
it's not negatively impacting me. And I just don't know that I think that that's possible. I think all things are about balance, right? So if I think about food, like I'm a nutrition expert, I don't tell people to never eat um a cookie or dessert or something but i say like just make sure you're fueling your body with good stuff like as long as a majority of what's going into your body is is good and helpful then yeah like splurge on dessert stuff time and i feel like it just came to me now as you were talking like that's a good analogy with music it's like okay like there there's nothing wrong with enjoying like
00:20:12
Speaker
you know, incredibly talented, you know, musical artists, like depending on, you know, and they might be talking about something that's not like super productive or that you necessarily want in your life per se, or might be, but as long as it's not what you're meditating on all the time, like listen to some of us's music, listen to like good inspirational things that are going to build you up, things that are feeding your spirit, there' things are going to help you, things that are truthful and supporting who you want to be. And then, yeah, then it's there's room to listen to other things. I think, yeah, it's so much about balance in life, right? Like, you know, with everything, anything health and wellness, like, I don't know, wouldn't you say?
00:20:49
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And you're asking me about like the the color association. yeah Yeah, why don't you jump in there? Yeah. Tell me, tell me what this is the first time i ever heard that in my life is when you said you you see you you see music as color or color as music or both. Tell us.
00:21:09
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So it kind of helps me like when I'm creating music, I guess like in a nutshell, that's what helps me stand apart like other people who create music. Like when I hear music, I see colors and it depends on like the type of song or the type of chords that are being played. But like if it's happy song, I might see like, you know, pink and blues or maybe yellows and oranges if it's like an electric guitar.
00:21:37
Speaker
But like every every sound that I hear musically has a color. So it's kind of like you you close your eyes and you just see like this this color wheel just forming or like kind of like when you you watch like ink go into water and it's just like these clouds and depending on the the color of the ink or the paint, you just kind of watch them form. That's like what I see when I hear music. So yeah, it's called synesthesia.
00:22:02
Speaker
ah That's crazy. There's an actual term for that. yeah I'm like, it's our real things. um that is That is wild. So um I wanted to to ask you a little bit more. Okay. Well, first of all, before I ask you about your own life balance with having so many different things going on,
00:22:21
Speaker
Um, you have an album called the gallery, right? Yes. Wesley's gallery. So that to me now it like is all coming together and making sense because it's just playing on this concept of painting, seeing colors with, with, with your music.
00:22:40
Speaker
Tell us a little bit more about the inspiration behind that, the album. For sure. Yeah. Like, um, like I like to call all my songs like pieces or art, you know, like it's it's something you see like when you go to a museum, like, you know, you you see like the little post underneath the canvas and tells you like, oh, this artist is you know, from 1800s and he's painting with oil or this type of paint. And um this this piece was inspired by XYZ. So I really wanted to put together like an album
00:23:11
Speaker
based around a theme of a museum and the museum is like my life. So Wesley's gallery is like things that I've gone through from calliggery calligraphy, you know, being a love song, talking about, you know, writing things extra nice or if it's wet paint, you know, like God's the author of my life and my story is far from done. So the paint's still dry. Like every song on the album relates to something you would see in the museum or I like to see, but also kind of something I'm either going through or that I've walked out once before.
00:23:46
Speaker
Yeah, so that's like the the overall theme of it. Okay. Yeah, I love that. That's super cool. um When I listen to it again, i'll have that in the back of my mind. So it'll be fun. um So so ah I have to ask you, this this is a super relevant to a lot of us out there, people listening, myself
Balancing Passions and Wellbeing
00:24:03
Speaker
included.
00:24:03
Speaker
ah You know, when when we have ah a passion or a dream, sometimes just takes a lot to continue to have the drive to keep moving forward because you know, like, you know, you, I mean, you're talking about music right now, but like, you're also like heavily involved in your community and, you know, your wife and your, you're, you know, working working for a nonprofit as well. And then you have this music bucket. I know for me, I have so many hats and sometimes like, I'm like, man, im like trying to find that balance of extending grace towards myself versus like the hustle of just like,
00:24:40
Speaker
you know, doing something you're so passionate about, like, what are the biggest things that you do just to like keep your cup full, keep yourself motivated, um you know, taking care of yourself so you can keep going, having the energy to do so? um However you want to answer that, talking about your routines, like what you do, like, yeah, tell us a little bit.
00:24:59
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a great question. One of my favorite words is the word no. And I just I think a lot of it you a lot of people say no with a comma, but I think the best way to say it is with a period. So um one of the things that keeps me free is just knowing like what I sign up to and what I say no to.
00:25:22
Speaker
And I think that keeps, you know, your cup being filled when you can have time to do the things that you're passionate about. Like when I was in my 20s, I used to create and do things late at night and then wake up for work.
00:25:37
Speaker
And as I got older, now in my 30s, I'm like, you know what? I don't feel the best like the next day after I do that. So I want to go to bed on time and just wake up really early. And at first it was kind of like,
00:25:49
Speaker
you know, this rigorous thing, but now I can do it to where i just really enjoy it. And what I love about being up early is like after I spend time with God, like that time is for me. Like I'm not checking my email. I'm not on social media, not texting anybody back. I'm doing something, whether I'm writing a song or listening to something, or even just kind of like outcycling, I'm going to do something before I'm responsible as a employee or, you know, a musician, I'm going to do something that's for Wes.
00:26:20
Speaker
And I think that is like, allowed me to give myself so much grace and allowed me to do the things that I have to do because I start today already doing what I want to do.
00:26:31
Speaker
Not in a selfish way, but just, you know, building in that capacity and then like jumping into the things that, you know, you kind of have the hustle for. Yeah, this that is that is so good. Okay, so where what do you think are your greatest drivers as far as like discipline to do that? Because I feel like we are in such a distracted world. As you were talking, I'm like, that's probably one of the barriers for a lot of folks actually like pursuing things that have been on their heart for a while. Maybe God downloaded a vision in their heart and they're kind of sitting on it. Like, it makes me wonder, like, we're so distracted that we have a hard time protecting time and when we assign something to that space we often let other things creep in and just lack focus you found a way to create spaces for intentional focus and i love that so yeah what uh expand on that how where do you think that that comes from like how are you able to do that absolutely it's not hard um i mean it's not hard it it isn't easy was what i meant to say um it's it's definitely a challenge because
00:27:38
Speaker
You know, I feel like this world is just built on FOMO, you know, pick up your phone, check this, get on this app. And it just never stops. One of the things that helps me is I don't have my notifications on.
00:27:49
Speaker
If I miss it, I miss it, you know. um And then another thing is like when I go to sleep, I sleep with my phone in the kitchen. so I can't give myself a reason to snooze when I wake up because I have to get up. So it's just like whatever puts me in a ah situation to where I'm going to have to do the most to to lower my standards, I'm going to do that. Because by the time I do the most, I'm like, well, you know, i already did all of this. I might as well just...
00:28:15
Speaker
you know, stay focused and get up while I woke up for. So just kind of having a goal, but not just stopping there, doing things that kind of put borders around myself. I think like that's one of the things that has helped me as like a man, but also as a creative, like limitations. I used to think,
00:28:34
Speaker
Having all the options would make you more creative. Having all the you know instruments, plugins, whatever it is. But it's actually when you limit yourself, you're kind of more creative. So just you know living from that less is more mentality, there's actually freedom in it.
00:28:50
Speaker
Yeah, that's so brilliant. I mean, there's been more conversations lately about the value of like giving yourself space for deep work, like and not even just work like deeper spending time with God. You want to go deep. You want to hear from him. You want it to be rejuvenating.
Accepting Limitations and Self-Care
00:29:03
Speaker
you you know, if you're, ah you know, doing something for yourself, like, you know, I know you like to bike and, you know, we yeah I like to play sports, was just different hobbies, like giving yourself space just to be in that moment, be with people or be doing your thing.
00:29:16
Speaker
And then you get more out of it. And I think like even where that creativity comes from when you give yourself distraction free space just to like go deep. But we have such a hard time with that. So that's probably, you know, every episode I have, you know, Coach Autumn's like takeaway or challenge, you know, and that's it right there. that's what I'm going to tell the listeners. If it's one like big takeaway and challenge is like,
00:29:41
Speaker
Try to set your life up, pick one or two things to where you are setting yourself up for success. Like, you know, like you were saying, Wes, like keeping, you know, your phone away at certain times or um just, you know, starting your day with doing something that fills your cup, like whatever, you know.
00:30:01
Speaker
whatever things that that you might need to do to set yourself up for success and and again a big one of my soapboxes is honesty around self-awareness if you're not honest with yourself be like oh no i got this like i don't need to do this like i know like if i wanted to i could eat better okay so i could have all this junk food in my house because you know if i wanted to i could say no to it well like set yourself up for success. If you know you're not cooking, you're just eating crap, then like keep the crap out. You know what I'm saying? Like, I feel this so much. This is this is really good.
00:30:32
Speaker
um So I do want to wrap up with a couple of things. Of course, I want to ask people where they could find you, follow you, all the things you can send me some links that you want me to share in the show notes. But um before we end there, i um was thinking like one thing I thought about when I was thinking about you in this interview was dynamic human beings.
00:30:53
Speaker
Okay, and let me break that down. Dynamic in that you have all these different gifts, right? And I think a lot of us could relate to that. have different passions. We have different you know hats that we wear.
00:31:04
Speaker
But what I want to reflect on is the human part, right? like being okay with knowing our limitations when you're creative and passionate and having grace with yourself where you're like, you know, I wish I would have produced that album. You know, I should have this new album out already. And I don't like for me, I'm so hard on myself.
00:31:22
Speaker
You know I'll say like, man, I should be here by now. And so how do you and again, you could tap into like your view of God however you want to share it. But how do you extend grace to yourself?
00:31:34
Speaker
I think that's good. um
00:31:39
Speaker
I stand grace to myself by just reminding myself of what happened on the seventh day of creation. You know, like Jesus did all of these things within a week, but on the seventh day he rested. And I don't think he rested because he had to. I think he rested because he wanted us to. And he's a leader who led by example. So.
00:31:59
Speaker
Like when I see that, I just have to remind myself like, you know what, I'm going kind of hard today. Like I need, I may have said yes to something that I thought I had capacity for that I need to like, you know, rain check on, or i may, you know, have wanted to do something that is not going to be delayed, but just kind of like remembering, like I'm a human being and, know,
00:32:22
Speaker
If God loves me and is proud of me, then I need to be proud of me. That's kind of something that I you know do my best to implement. You can only so much. So just trying to live like a like a son and not a machine.
00:32:35
Speaker
That's my goal. Mm, that is so good. That's so good. You know, that's so good. Because that's the thing is, is like, you know, intellectually, we could say like, I know God loves me no matter what. It's not about what I do. It's how I show up in this world. how I love my neighbors, how I, you know, it's my heart's posture. And we can know this intellectually, but I think we just struggle with making that so real in our hearts, actually feeling feeling it for real, for real, that God just loves us so deeply, no matter what.
00:33:05
Speaker
And, you know, I'm discovering new ways of how I could extend grace to myself as someone who just like always feels like they're not doing enough. Right. So I love that answer. Yeah, I love that. I love
Conclusion and Resources
00:33:18
Speaker
that. So, OK, so tell us, Wes Harris, where can people find you, follow you, so far on and so forth?
00:33:24
Speaker
Yes. Well, if you're listening, thank you. And you can find me on Spotify, iTunes, if people are still doing that, Apple Music, Amazon, all the things under Wes Harris.
00:33:35
Speaker
And on socials, my name is I'm I am Wes Harris, H-A-R-R-I-S, Instagram, Twitter, threads. If you're there, I'm probably there too.
00:33:46
Speaker
Awesome.
00:33:49
Speaker
I know, right? Yeah, exactly. So very, very good. Well, um I thank you so much for being guests on this podcast. And again, ah for all of you listening, take my tip to heart um from this episode to set yourself up for success so that you can walk in your gifts while also extending yourself grace. You know, i love that image. So anyways, have a great day, everyone. Thanks for listening.
00:34:22
Speaker
Thank you for tuning in to the Aligned Living Podcast. I'm Dr. Autumn, your guide on this journey to shalom or wholeness. Ready to embark on this journey of self-discovery and transformation?
00:34:37
Speaker
Head over to autumnswain.com to learn more and to dive deeper into the world of Aligned Living. Until next time, stay aligned.