Disclaimer: You'll all have to bear with me as I go off on a philosophical tangent here. Lately, I guess you can say that I've been in what seems a constant state of contemplation. I know what you're thinking: Can I be any more cryptic? Like I said, I'm going off on a philosophical tangent here....
As I find myself in a time of transition, my mind suddenly becomes bombarded by a horrible onslaught of bad cliches that have probably been the stale leftovers of cheesy syndicated TV. When one door closes, another one opens--OR my personal favourite--When life throws you lemons, make lemonade. Seriously. Who comes up with this crap? At any rate, I suppose these proverbial mantras were created to give people hope in the absence thereof, or whatever, so I shouldn't diss them too much, right?
It's just that I've been confronted by the realities of human mortality more than once during the last year so as a result, I've been doing a lot of contemplating. And if I've come up with anything meaningful during my pseudo epistemological journey, it's been this: I've wasted way too much energy on stupid shit. I know it may not a take life-changing circumstance to actually come to this realization, however, I'm convinced that a good kick in the pants always helps.
So if I had to define stupid shit in the most general of terms, the list would be comprised of the usual "sins"--money, resentment, apathy, vanity, and lame relationships. I know it's all part of the grand scheme of life's live and learn process. Believe me, I know. And it's not that I feel like I'm suddenly running out of time because I still indeed, have a whole lot of life to live. What I have realized is that contrary to my former mindset, my time is not endless--but finite. So as I begin to put a new found value on the minutes, hours, and years, I'm ready to spend my time a bit more wisely....
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Soul Searching...aka T.M.I.
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8 comments:
Well said.
Just so long as you enjoy it, it doesn't matter what other people consider 'wisely' :o)
You have lots of time. Good post.
Thank you Zen!
divinyl...
You're so right! "Wisely" is definitely in the eyes of the beholder so long as you enjoy life, the rest just doesn't matter....
Will...
Thank you! Yes, I definitely have PLENTY of life to live and there's so much I would love to do which I can't wait to get started on....
I absolutely appreciate aphorisms like "life - lemons - lemonade" because they represent the mindset necessary to quash self-defeating behavior. The truth is that bad things happen to everyone, and it's fundamentally important to be able to find ways of mitigating those most horrible circumstances through exercising our immediate gifts.
I don't think the were created, necessarily, to give hope where there is none, but to encourage life's participants to consider tha life *does* require participation. What are the things in your life that are the sugar to sweeten those things that sour?
Mine are music, writing and photography, one of which I do professionally. But when my father was dying I found ways to document his descent into the hell of metastisized cancer by capturing the poignant, tender moments in the midst of all that suffering. This was our first Christmas without him. We played the videotapes of his laughter, his amazing life filled, intense features defying the very disease that ravaged his body. there were no tears last night, just smiles and laughter.
When things became too much for me to handle, I remembered the sugar that I carried with me everywhere until, now, even in the wake of the grief of loss, we're surrounded by photographs and videos that echo his unique and singular contribution to humanity. He was a great man, and celebrating that is infinitely better and more productive than living in the purgatory of the question "why?"
Yes, it's bitter sweet, but it's sure easier to swallow with sugar in it. :)
Lemonade isn't so bad.
Welcome Jon!
I'm sorry to hear about your father. I suppose we all have our own ways of sifting through life's obstacles to discover the good that lies beneath. I think my own epiphany was pretty clear in my post. And while I'm not a fan of those "glass half full" cliches, I do believe that a positive mind, healthy spirit, and the unconditional love of familiy and friends go a long way in helping us come to terms with our loss. Thanks for commenting!
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