Poor me

“When the fight 

begins within himself, 

a man's worth something.”

- Robert Browning, 1855 -

You lost your job.  Your best friend died.  Your dog ran away.  Your favorite NFL team blew the playoffs.  Your significant other bitches at you constantly.  Your neighbor is a thieving asshole.  You got put in a fight and lost.  You wrecked your car.  Your government is screwing you.  You blew the interview.  You lost your wallet.  You made a mistake on your taxes and got audited.  It's raining hail and sleet and lightning and earthquaking.  You've been cheated on.  

One big breath and exhale a nice, long, sentimental..... "FUCK."  

Now, get over it.  Anger is a gift, my friends.  It is a primal, unbridled opportunity for you to take your life by the throat and rip that shit open like Dalton protects the Double Deuce from pseudo-cowboy denim dancers.  

Bad things happen, and with that we, being the good people we are, like to think that a higher power wouldn't bestow something so terrible on US.  WE should be left out of the people marked with cancer, divorce, death, disease, etc..  We like to complicate matters thinking that there is some set of rules that if we abide will free us from hardship, effort, and in that we immediately relieve ourselves of power.  

Life is pain.  Once realized, you are free.  Free to choose what you believe to be right, fair, and true - amidst all the pain.  

The power of choice in an incredible event.  

"This is what I believe, and I'm willing to die for it."

Don't overcomplicate it.  Be aware of the choices at hand, and give them meaning by understanding that through the pain we find a life no one can take.  Nothing can change it or let you down, or alter it in any way.

Take all that pain, put it through the incredible machine that you are, and use it as the gift is was meant to be.  

Be useful.  Don't be a victim.

Breathe, and listen.

Its not uncommon to perk up and focus when someone speaks in a whisper.  The subconscious thinking there is more content to be gained with less volume.  It may be, or not.  Either way it has your attention.

With television, radio, and the coffee shop clubs constant incessant talking, pontificating, open judgement - when is there time to listen?
Are you able to hear what your telling yourself?  Deep down there is a right, and wrong, and the ability to listen to it needs to be refined.  How much noise are you blocking out, how much energy does it take?  Does it distract you from being the person you want to be?

What was it that drove you to begin?  Listening to yourself at moments of calm will undoubtedly produce a vision of the path you truly desire to walk.  Have the guts to start, keep going uphill, see whats around the bend, and always move forward.  It's always going to be one step, one breathe, one moment.

When you remember a time that you were you, in your truest sense, the task you are doing or the people you are with are a clue as to what makes you happiest.  It's a sign that you are woking with purpose, which leads to passion, and fulfillment.  Let yourself be taken back to what moves you.  You don't need to be a hard ass to be a bad ass.  Just keep following your dreams.

There's calm in there.