Shirley’s Rant Before Coffee
Oh, Dear Og, people.
What is this the Meeting of People Who Aren’t Medicating Themselves Properly?
Buddha on a trampoline.
Look, I’ve amazed all of you with the crushing reality that is my life, and I dare any of you out there to ‘beat’ me at the shit factor that it brings. I am not talking about self-induced sucked factor made from poor decision making and the inability to learn from Life Lessons, but outside forces that you cannot control.
I could spend my spare time moping about the *unfairness of it all * and how *I and my family got the short sheet in life *and * my, oh my, doesn’t it all just suck? * and I should *just end it all now. ™ *
*WAH WAH WAH. *
Having a pity party occasionally is perfectly natural. Your heart gets ripped out, your back gets stabbed, your credit rating bottoms out because of losing your ATM card. It hurts, you learn from it and move on. But when it turns into a year long-decade long event of sulking, whining and self flagellation, the problem isn’t *Your Boss Hates You, You Are Grossly Underpaid * (we all are, baby), *the World Is Against You * or the * Planets Are Not In Alignment. *The problem is **YOU. **
Yeah, you.
Your mother’s little sunshine.
You gave in.
You gave up.
You know what I am talking about.
You did it all yourself and have only to look in the mirror to know who to blame.
You donated your spine to Goodwill, sold your soul for a weekly paycheck from the Company From Hell and your brain and creative drive were sucked out of you faster than a teenage boy and his first hummer by the hot skanky cheerleader.
It is not whether you make * Big Bucks, Make a Huge Difference On The Planet, Change the Social Structure of Humankind * or Will Be Remembered in 100 Years.
It’s about learning how to manage your own little universe. Making smart decisions that keep you in balance with yourself, not the Jones or the guy next to you in Cubicle-ville.
It’s about seeing a wrong and doing something about it right then. Not just sending off a $10 donation to Do Something About The Rainforest/Marsupial Gonad Issues. A wrong doesn’t have to be single handedly stopping baby seal clubbings though good luck in getting the bat away from those large natives. it’s about seeing a peice of trash on the ground, stopping, picking it up and disposing of it. Or holding open a door for the next person that comes along. It’s about listening to someone who’s had a craptacular day, just listening. Little things don’t end global hunger, but it can spark a revolution in someone else to try to do better, be better.
It’s not about whether the name Oswald Fartknockle will be synonmous with a great Scientific Breakthrough and Cutting Edge Whoo-Ha that will have Changed The Face Of The Planet and How We Floss Our Teeth in 100 years, it is about being liked, known and respected by those of whom we like, know and respect. And that doesn’t mean you are the * Center of Attention* and Men Want to Be You and Women Want to Bear Your Children. You can keep that fantasy if that is what fuels your mental playground during the Soul Sucking Moments that are known as 9 - 5 Monday through Friday, but if you have just one good friend to whom you can discuss anything, that is worth more than the false adulation of a 100 simpering sycophants.
Life isn’t about being the Big Hero on a National/Global level. It’s about getting up, day after grinding day and doing what needs to be done to take care of the kids, an elderly parent, pay the bills.
It’s about finding an outlet for the pressure, whether a hobby, exercise or something, to channel the negative energy into something positive. Not just eating yourself into a pair of sansa-belts with comfort foods and beer night after night while turning off your brain to the Electric Pacifier known as TV. It isn’t about becoming a bitter, hateful person because Life Is Too Hard. Life isn’t calculus, people.
Life can be hard, very soul crushing hard at times. These little bon mots from the Devil himself are known as Lessons in Disguise. You are enduring this little Valley of Shit at this particular place and time for reasons that might not be clear now or in five years, but I swear to you on everything I hold dear, the lesson will not be lost and you will end up helping someone later on who is in their own Valley of Shit that is near exact to your experience.
What you earn, what kind of car you drive, where you live and what you wear *does not matter one ounce. * Are you confident in yourself enough to say no to someone else, to disappoint them, so as to remain true to yourself and trust your instincts? What matters is, can you sit by yourself, all alone, and like the company you keep?
I’ll shut up now lest I end a Greeter at Walmart.