Life is an inevitable fact for everyone drawing breath. There is no way to avoid it once you exit the birth canal and there is no way to avoid the impact it has on you OR the impact you have on life itself. When I sit and ponder a moment about life, my life, I can't help but think of some things that have molded me, changed me and have left me a better person. I want to share with you just a few basic things that Life has taught in the hopes that you might agree or might feel inspired to search out the same thoughts in your own life.
Throughout our lifetime, no matter its length, we all encounter happiness, sadness, joy, pain, laughter, choices, consequences, victory and defeat. How we handle or deal with each of these things is subject to our own interpretation or simply to how we were taught to perceive them. Thinking about different parts of my life that span different eras, time frames and decades, a few things come to mind that I feel are worth mentioning. One can break down life experiences and perceptions into a few, point blank categories.
Simpilicty:
There are times that you just need it simple. Times when a generic ON/OFF button will suffice and is preferred. Times when doing less means more. Times when not knowing the answers is the best. Times when a child can teach you something magical and important. Times when you need to act like a child.
Convenience:
When you live in close proximity to family or anyone else in your household or time is of the essence, there are certain convenient items that make a huge difference in the day to day. Microwaves. Microwaves are great! Sure, taking time to actually cook on the stove or in the oven may lend itself to a better, healthier meal, but man, having food ready to eat in minutes verses hours is priceless. When you have a hungry family or room mates, speedy food preparation can be a big benefit. Coffee pots. Again, boiling water on the stove the old school way will always work, but being able to put in a couple scoops, pour in some water, hit start and have coffee "come forth" as you shower, shave or do other tasks is great. What about things that help keep peace in your house hold? Padded toilet seats. Yep, that's what I said. When you have a light sleeper in the house and your bathroom that you use is close to that person trying to sleep, I don't care who you are, the act of putting a toilet lid up or down without a sound is not as easy task. If you are half asleep, this task is even more difficult. Padded seat and lid, problem solved! Doors. I am not a big fan of doors. I am not shy in the least and feel that if you are family or are close enough to share everything else, that doors can sometimes prove to be more of a barrier than not. Yes, privacy at certain times IS an issue, but then again, that is easily solved by opening your mouth and just telling the other person, "hey, give me a minute." Doors do help though to keep your roomies dog out of your stuff and also allow a way for a teenager to pout in peace.
Stupidity:
We have ALL done stupid things. For me, I think I was most stupid when I was a teenager. There are things that I did that should have gotten me killed, jailed or grounded until yesterday. Building a ramp on top of the house roof so you can jump your bike off of it into the pool, not smart but stupid. Street racing at top speed chasing a girl in a Porsche wearing a bikini, not smart, but stupid. Swimming beside a huge cruise ship in the Panama Canal when the draft of the ship could pull you wiskfully into the propellers, not smart but stupid. Jumping on the back of a sleeping bull in the middle of a field just to see what happens, not smart but stupid. Okay, Mom, deep breath!! I survived and learned my lesson as it were! Other things that rank at stupid might have been choices in relationships, ones that you knew might end up hurting you or others but you dove head long into them anyway, yea not smart but stupid. Even though I willfully did some stupid things, these choices and experiences helped me learn the do's and do nots, molded me into a much smarter adult and in some strange ways, kept me out of trouble.
Sometimes we do not really get to choose what type of work we do. There are times when we apply for certain jobs we like or dream of and they just don't come to fruition. For me, I will never forget my first job. I was 15 and a brand new Hardee's was being built close to home in Bartlett, Tennessee. Like any teen, I wanted to make some mad money. I went down, applied, was hired on the spot and spent the next 2 1/2 years working nearly full time. I remember within my first 6 months there that my Manager, Mark Guinn, offered me the Assistant Manager position. The pay was great and even came with a company car, a VW Golf. To do this job though I would have had to drop out of high school and commit to crazy hours and either put on the back burner all the things I loved or would have had to totally abandon them. I opted not to take that position because my love of music and being in show choirs and ensembles and competitions all were leading me to a career hopefully in music and I loved them all. Music was my saving grace, what I was best at and something that to me was sacred. During college I worked doing maintenance at one of the biggest churches in our area in Florida. Did that 3 years. From there situations came about that were beyond my control and my job choices became very limited. I lost the ability to speak at all for over 5 years and during that time there was no way to utilize my college degree in Tv/Film Production. So, manual labor became the only option. Over the years I went through different types of employ mostly due to health limitations. I don't regret any of them. Each one, though vastly different, really developed me as a person. One benefit of doing manual labor in construction and maintenance was that I never really had to go to the gym. I was strong as an ox, fit, had very developed muscles and a lot of people I knew envied that. The down side was that my body was being destroyed joint by joint, tendon by tendon. I am now on disability and have been for a number of years due to my Tourettes, Tardive Dyskinesia and Fibromyalgia. I would have loved to be at one job for my entire career and been able to retire with a great pension and all of those perks, but that was not the course laid out for me. It's all good. I am where I am meant to be and for that I am grateful.
Activities:
At whatever any age as we grow up and meander through life, we have a choice of activities we involve ourselves in. For me, it was mostly music, camping, rock climbing, spelunking, sky diving, snorkeling, biking, hiking, horses, motorcycles, wood working, crafting, mechanicing, and many other activities. Here again, some part of these choices involved stupid again, but in a different way. Maybe it was in the fact that I really couldn't afford to go out and buy new camping gear. Or maybe it was that camping in the middle of nowhere with just a sleeping bag and no tent was not that bright when there were wild boars and panthers known to be in the area. These are just two examples. Our activities in a way do define us. Each person likes different things. To each his own. When I was a kid, my parents bought me a go cart. I drove the wheels off of that thing all over the neighborhood. Of course, back then it was permissible and no big deal. I would rig up a wagon train of literal red flyer wagons, about 6 of them hooked together and take all my buddies for jaunts around the neighborhood. It was awesome! Now a days, the majority of my activities involve helping other people, offering encouragement, a listening ear, writing this blog, writing music, shooting, and most importantly spending quality time with my family.
You know, there are endless quotes from famous persons in history about Life. I think some of these quotes are just gems and embody so much truth. There are quotes also that we ourselves can come up with that are unique just to us that have just as much merit as those that are famous. I am amused by the fact that certain celebrities have made quotes about life, living, coping and other things that they really don't have any more idea about than we do. I find it awkward that people like Madonna have published children's books. Life is, as I already mentioned, unavoidable. We can choose to go through our life with our head in the sand, or locked in a room or fully submersed in it with a gung ho attitude. When we are documenting our life, it is vital to realize that we ARE documenting our life whether we know it or not. Some people purposely leave their mark and experiences through the medium of writing. Others do it through the display of tattoos that visibly show stories and events that person has been through. Others still, simply document their life in their internal memories. I think one of the best ways to document life as a whole or even your life is with the use of photographs. I know the actual act of inserting film rolls, getting them developed, cropping them and storing them in albums is a waning idea, but thanks to digital media and the invent and development of digital cameras, even that is a viable option these days. We take a lot of photos. For us the convenience of having that immediate visible memory is priceless. As we all age, I will say, I truly feel it is important to find some way of capturing your life. The activities we choose, our employment history, the conveniences we enjoy, the stupidity we endure and the simplistic things we embrace all will leave an indelible mark on our world and those who follow behind us. No matter what you do or how you choose to do it, just remember that our LIFE is visible to others, now and in the future. It is okay to have remnants of bad choices, poor decisions. It is also okay to have remnants of our successes and victories after trials. To wrap this up, don't sit on the sidelines. Be actively involved in your life. I think this saying below sums it up perfectly.
As you move forward, remembering your past and all of its good and bad, don't forget to follow your heart, but take your brain with you! Carpe Diem!! Seize this day!
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