Goodbye 2011. Thanks for being a good year.
The last few years have been unnerving. Thanks for the respite.
In gratitude, I'm leaving aside the snark for just a little bit and attempting to collate the personal ephipanies that these past years have brought; just purely to help crystalize, in my head, the lessons that are in the process of revealing themselves.
So:
'The Things I Now Know (or at least am getting to be pretty sure about.)
1) Almost Nothing is an Absolute. (See how that 'Almost' slipped in there and saved the assertion from being ironically self-negating.)
2) Everything works out (You just have to live long enough.)
3) Most situations turn out the way they were going to. It's personal tendencies towards hope or drama or nihilism or hyper bole that give these events the cast of momentous epics, grand events, close shaves, non-events, farces or tragedies.
4) Bad things happen. And then we move on.
5) Amazing things happen. And then we move on.
6) Life isn't Fair because the Universe is Balance. This means that you, like almost everyone else, have likely recieved a fair number of get-out-of-jail-free cards when you least deserved to. So you and life are about even.
7) No one is 100% Great or 100% Asshole if you can manage to climb inside their head and have a look around.
8) There will be times when certain people will insist on showing you a mirror - to either magnify your flaws or glorify your perfection. Sometimes, they're being true friends; sometimes, they're being assholes. Your job is to figure out which is which and deal accordingly.
9) Life doesn't come with a punchline or operatic theme music to cue you in to the moments that are going to be personally significant. Consequently, it is entirely possible you may miss the high points of your own life as they occur. Be vigilant: Own the wins, grieve the losses, acknowledge the pain, allow the anger, feed the hope. Be present.
10) If you have to try harder than you want to just to be loved, they probably aren't worth it.
11) In the moment, true perception is distorted and the actual significance or insignificance of events and people to your existence is unrevealed. Remember that when drama crops up between you and the people in your life and you get the urge to respond melodramatically.
12) When the chips are down, you are the only one who can take care of you. So long as it's not harming someone else, you are allowed to do this By Any Means Necessary. So bawl, sleep, run, eat, make, read, listen to loud crunchy music, drink, do whatever it takes till you're you again. Then get yourself up and throw yourself back into the fray.
In gratitude, I'm leaving aside the snark for just a little bit and attempting to collate the personal ephipanies that these past years have brought; just purely to help crystalize, in my head, the lessons that are in the process of revealing themselves.
So:
'The Things I Now Know (or at least am getting to be pretty sure about.)
1) Almost Nothing is an Absolute. (See how that 'Almost' slipped in there and saved the assertion from being ironically self-negating.)
2) Everything works out (You just have to live long enough.)
3) Most situations turn out the way they were going to. It's personal tendencies towards hope or drama or nihilism or hyper bole that give these events the cast of momentous epics, grand events, close shaves, non-events, farces or tragedies.
4) Bad things happen. And then we move on.
5) Amazing things happen. And then we move on.
6) Life isn't Fair because the Universe is Balance. This means that you, like almost everyone else, have likely recieved a fair number of get-out-of-jail-free cards when you least deserved to. So you and life are about even.
7) No one is 100% Great or 100% Asshole if you can manage to climb inside their head and have a look around.
8) There will be times when certain people will insist on showing you a mirror - to either magnify your flaws or glorify your perfection. Sometimes, they're being true friends; sometimes, they're being assholes. Your job is to figure out which is which and deal accordingly.
9) Life doesn't come with a punchline or operatic theme music to cue you in to the moments that are going to be personally significant. Consequently, it is entirely possible you may miss the high points of your own life as they occur. Be vigilant: Own the wins, grieve the losses, acknowledge the pain, allow the anger, feed the hope. Be present.
10) If you have to try harder than you want to just to be loved, they probably aren't worth it.
11) In the moment, true perception is distorted and the actual significance or insignificance of events and people to your existence is unrevealed. Remember that when drama crops up between you and the people in your life and you get the urge to respond melodramatically.
12) When the chips are down, you are the only one who can take care of you. So long as it's not harming someone else, you are allowed to do this By Any Means Necessary. So bawl, sleep, run, eat, make, read, listen to loud crunchy music, drink, do whatever it takes till you're you again. Then get yourself up and throw yourself back into the fray.
