How tough life can be. How unpredictable life can be. How surprising life can be. How wonderful life can be.
As I sit here on a Sunday writing this post, I wonder where my “Spring Forward” hour went? I woke up and looked at the clock and it said 7:30. In the 30 seconds it took me to brush my teeth and walk into the kitchen, I had lost an hour. The clock on the microwave was flashing 8:30 am. Where the hell did that hour of my life go?
I lost an hour of life as if it was sudsy water swirling down the drain. Did it get flushed into the universal pool of time joining other souls whose hour also mysteriously was taken away?
Having lost an hour of my life before I even got out of bed made me philosophical and want to question the existence of Why.
If you like THAT’S CRAZY rants that are full of sex and drugs and rock and roll, then this post is not for you. Turn away now and go do something else.
So how do we get our hour back? Do we arm wrestle the devil for it? Do we go on EBAY and see how much a lost hour of life is going for? Do we open the refrigerator, pull out the milk and sniff it to see if the expiration date has affected all molecular matter in your home?
PHILOSOPHY 101: They say you start dieing the minute you are born. That’s an interesting premise. It’s rather pessimistic don’t you think? You were just born, goop still filling your nasal cavity and someone has the temerity to say you just began dying. You just drew the antiseptic air of the hospital into your little lungs for the first time and all ready your life clock is ticking backward. You haven’t pooped your first pile of meconium rich doo doo into a wash cloth sized diaper and all ready the moments of your life are swirling out of control like the inflation clock hanging in Times Square.
Wouldn’t it be just as true to say you start living the moment you are born. If you are lucky enough to have health you are lucky enough to begin your voyage. If you have a family that loves you then you have the building blocks for potential. If you are given a chance, life will show you the path.
Somebody with a half empty glass of beer on his place mat once said: “Life’s a bitch then you die.” The guy is staring directly into the golden nectar of 1/2 a glass of delicious ale and he’s all ready concerned that his drink is almost gone. Why not stare at the same nectar of the Gods and say, look how much more there is to enjoy. It’s a simple illustration of how different people look at the same thing differently.
I think life is like a horse race. We all try and get out of the gate quickly, safely, keep our footing and stay upright. as we enter the first turn, we position ourselves against the rail, in a safe position, occassionally laying a little leather into our horses flank to keep up speed. As we round the first turn, we find our place in the pack, keeping an eye on those behind, but mostly focusing on the horses ahead and our position between them. Then we get to the half way pole and the race begins to change.
In this horse race of life, your 40’s would be the approximate half way marker. This life post is somehow the wake up call that allows you to guage how far you are from the start line and how close you are to the end.
You are not so young anymore, but you’re not so old either. At 40 you have lived some life, but you are ready to live more.
This is what makes life so complex and at the same time so simple.
When you are in your teens, all you want to do is grow up and get out.
When you are in your 20’s all you want to do is socialize.
When you are in your 30’s, you are looking for stability.
When you are in your 40’s you begin to wonder is this all there is.
When you are in your 70’s you wonder have I done enough.
When you are in your 80’s you wonder if the pain will go away.
Is Death the end? Or just the next chapter of the journey?
If my circle of friends and family is like your circle of friends and family then you know people having money problems, and marital difficulties, and child rearing dilemnas, and some have health issues.
Like a nail in life’s highway, any of these problems can flatten your tire and force you to pull to the side of the road for temporary repairs. I say temporary, because in life’s journey, everything is temporary. The only thing permanent is death. Or is it?
Because you never know if today will be the last day on life’s highway, you need to drive your spirit accordingly. If you hit a nail, then pull over and patch it. Do it yourself or ask for help. However it gets patched.
I have a found a simple mantra in life that helps me maintain equilibrium. I learned it in high school, because the spiritual leader of the school, Coach Wilson, closed each morning assembly with this simple prayer.
GOD GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE. TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.
It’s simple and it works.
It means that you can only do so much and so much is all you can do.
Life moments come in different flavors. Try and taste the goodness in each scoop of life regardless of what flavor it is. Somedays Vanilla is all you get. But vanilla is better than paprika flavored ice cream isn’t it? It is all relative.
Here’s my last bit of pontification. Tomorrow I swear I’ll write about something lighter. But when you wake up today try this. It’s stupid, but it’s so stupid it kind of works.
Go to a mirror, any mirror and just stare at yourself. Then smile. Force the smile. Smile like a chimp smiles when he knows he gets to throw his excrement at the people at the zoo. Smile like the first time you saw your baby, or the first time you got laid. Smile like the first time you knew you were in love or the first time you got paid what you think you are worth. Smile like the first time you felt other’s respect and the first time you gave from your heart. Stare long enough, smile hard enough and soon that forced smile will feel real. The feeling in your lips will spread to your jaw then down your throat and into your soul. It’s kind of hard to be mad at life when you are throwing chimp excrement at the onlookers of despair isn’t it?
As you get in your car and travel down life’s highway, say thank you for the time you’ve had, but be more thankful for the time still remaining.
Hang around long enough and you’ll get that cosmic hour back. You’ll wake up this FALL and look at the clock and it will read 7:30 in your bedroom and you’ll walk to the kitchen and the microwave clock will read: 6:30. And you’ll remember that Sunday way back in March, when life stole that hour from you and suddenly you’ll smile as you think; “What’s my hour been doing all these months?” “Hey hour, nice to see ya again.”
Maybe our hour went where we all go when we finish our journey on life’s highway. Maybe we just melt into the cosmic vapor of time, some compressed worm hole that leads to the doorstep of heaven
Maybe as you stare at the gatekeeper of infinity, you can look at life’s beer glass and declare : “my glass is now empty!”
But perhaps this is the exact moment in your life when you should declare : “My glass is more full than it’s ever been!”
and that is crazy!