REM Was Right

 

When your day is long
And the night, the night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough
Of this life, well hang on

Don't let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
Everybody hurts sometimes

REM and Michael Stipe not only struck a musical chord with their 1992 hit, "Everybody Hurts" but a human chord as well. 

Everybody DOES hurt. 

if you sit down in a crowded bar and looked around, everyone there is hurting.  Everyone there carries a painful burden in their heart.  If you queried the patrons, some of the scars may not seem that deep to you but I guarantee, it's deep for them. 

I dated a girl a long time ago, who cried every time this song came on and all I could do was hold her and let her cry. 

I think this is why we bump around into other humans (either on purpose or by accident).  

So we can feel.  

So we can heal.  

The next time the scab is picked on your wound and you start to bleed again, please remember...don't let yourself go. 

Hold on. 

Hold on. 

Happy Places

 “Just for a moment, amid all the bad stuff, this was a happy place again.”

McDonald's is a brilliant marketer. 

They took a hamburger, fries, and drink and re-branded it as a "happy meal."  Sometimes, you even got a toy with it.  They took the "every day" and made it something special.  No matter what kind of day you were having, a happy meal always made it better. 

Do you have a "happy place?"  

I know, happiness is a mindset and not necessarily connected to a physical place but we all have those special places where we are insulated from the real world. Where the monsters under our bed can't get us.  Where the darkness doesn't exist.  

I can honestly say, most of my happy places are more closely associated with the people who I am with but there are these special places that just seem different when I am there. 

Having "happy places" is a healthy concept.  Whether you have talked yourself into the magic of the location or not, it's important to spend time there. 

Life is beautiful but can be hard. 

Life is play but takes work. 

We all need our "happy places." 

"Can you supersize that, please."

What's your Sign?

 

The Phoenix. 

"Rising from the ashes."

The ancient Greeks and Egyptians described this mythical bird as a magnificent creature that was a worshiped deity. Each Phoenix lived for 500 years and right before his time was up, the Phoenix built a nest and set itself on fire. 

Renewal. Restart. Redo. Perseverance. 

The Lotus. 

"Out of the mud, comes beauty." 

The Lotus flower is the perfect similitude for the human condition. Its roots are in the dirtiest waters, yet the Lotus still produces the most glorious bloom.  

Purity. Enlightenment. Self Regeneration. Rebirth.

Symbols of symbols. 

My two favorite. 

They uplift. Give strength. Help get through. 

And, you? 

What's your sign? 

Sunshine, Shadows, and Scars

 I love the sun. 

Especially when the sun makes its daily grand entrance and when it takes a bow for another brilliant performance before it retires to sleep. 

The sun warms. It grows. It brightens and enlightens. 

It also gives life to shadows and imperfections.

When the sun brightens your space, shadows come from corners and crevices and creep along their way. The sun also highlights things like crumbs and cat hairs invisible to the naked, shadowed eye. 

It's the paradox of life. 

Sunshine is so giving. So great. To soak it up like Timothy Green is an amazing feeling. But too much sun withers and fades as well.  

Sun giveth, sun taketh away. 

The good and the bad. We can't feel one without the other. You can’t feel the joy without experiencing the pain. The pain of a scar runs deep but the scar remains seen to give us strength. 

The imperfections of a perfect Sun. 

As is life. 

The Human Current

We've all heard of an electric current, right? 

An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through an electrical conductor or space.

But have you heard of "the human current?" 

The human current is when two people cross paths (seemingly random) and connect at some level for a reason not known at the time, but later, the purpose of the encounter becomes clearer.  

I've had several of these random encounters recently. 

One was brought about over a story told on the radio about another random encounter several years ago. 

One was brought about by a friend of a friend. 

And another was brought about by a note to a mutual acquaintance. 

All three proved to bring deeper meaning that was originally evident on the surface. You don't realize the spark that can be created by these 'random' connections.  These human interactions and encounters drive us.  They keep us going. They give the fuel that we need to realize it's all worth it. 

Always be looking for these.  Always be plugged into the human current. 

On. 

Which Loss Loses More

 “All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.”

Loss. 

We all have experienced it in one form or another. 

Whether unexpected or something known, the sting and hurt from the loss can be crippling. 

But what loss loses more?  Death or walking out? 

By walking out, I mean that someone is still very much alive but no longer is in your life.  For whatever reason.  Anger. Indifference. Or simply, growing apart. 

Death has a finality to it but I will argue the memories tend to be sweeter. 

Walking out still presents hope but there's more sadness to it. 

Each one takes a piece of you away.  Your wholeness is compromised. 

But like damaged muscles, tendons, and ligaments, the area around it usually gets stronger. Make the area around your hurt stronger. 

"Anything you lose comes around in another form." 

Always. 

PS; That's a picture of my Dad and Sister. I have lost both. 

How High is your Bar

 

Ever date someone who told you horror stories of their ex?  

Made you feel pretty good about having a chance to clear the bar that was previously established, right? Basically, in some cases, all you had to do was take a normal step and the bar was in the distant past. 

If the past relationship was McDonald's, you need to shoot for a four-star restaurant. 

When you are setting personal goals, you need to ask yourself, "how high is the bar?"

Setting it too high, sets yourself up for failure and disappointment.

Setting it too low, leads to unfulfilled potential. 

Always ask first, how high is the bar, and then find the right height and take a run at it. 

Ready, set, go! 

PS; Several years ago, I told you about a bar in the Cayman Islands named Calico Jack's and I said the barstools and bar are ungodly high but the climb was worth it.  This latest brain dump made me think of that because...they set the bar high. 😉