I don’t really have time for this any more.
But before I go, a few things I’ve learned along the way since I started this blog whenever it was.
Life is short. I think I was in my 40s when I started this. I’m 60 now, and let me tell you, life is short. I spent some time with my mom this week. She’s 80 and one helluva strong woman. I see that little twinkle in her eyes and I know where I my Bohemian self comes from. She can’t be 80; I can’t be 60. But here we are. And I can’t believe it’s been almost 17 years since we lost my Dad. I do have to say that I’m glad he isn’t here to see the mess this country has become.
People come and go. Friends come and stay, no matter what. For whatever damage I’ve done to anyone out there, I am truly sorry. I’m a work in progress and VERY capable of making mistakes. We all are. It takes courage to admit when we mess up, and boy howdy have I messed up. Still do, every day. But as Ginger Rogers sings, “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.”
In the overall scheme of things, a lot of what we think matters really doesn’t. Politics will change. Social issue will change. Love does not change. You can’t just stop loving someone, if you really do love them.
Pain can not be avoided. No matter what we do to try and avoid, go around, jump over…whatever. Pain will find us. The question is: how do we respond to pain. Think about the lepers. The problem with leprosy is that nerve damage causes them to NOT feel pain, and that’s what causes the conditions we think of when we think about people with leprosy. Blind? Yep, because something irritated an eye and there was no pain. Lost fingers or toes? Yep, because a small injury became infected and there was no pain. Pain is a gift, my friend.
God exists, and you are not God. Neither am I. Anyone who believes in self alone has a pretty weak god.
Order does not come from chaos. If it did, my house would be spotless, all the time, without me ever having to lift a finger.
There’s a real world out there, beyond this fake one we call the interwebs. Go out there and live. This thing here is the Matrix, and it’s not living. It’s pretending.
If you’re over the age of 21, for Pete’s sake grow up. It’s not all about you and how you feel about stuff.
I know all of this sounds trite; it isn’t. Life is hard. I know it, you know it, anyone who is honest with himself knows it. But, life is also beautiful. Look for that, live in that.
Know that somewhere, someone loves you, prays for you, wants only the best for you. Even when you feel alone, you aren’t. The Perseids peak tonight. Go outside and look up. Gaze past the Perseids, through the Milky Way, out of our galaxy and across the universe, and see who you find.
Drop me a line sometime, if you feel so inclined. I’m still here, until I’m not.
Hailing frequencies closed.