Belated entry. But still potent...
Upon returning home, there were of course numerous individual reunions of which I was called upon to be a part of. Although it has only been a few months, it's always nice to know you're in a place where you're loved. But I digress...
One of these joyous occasions happened early last week when I met my friend Clay and my friend Jeff at one of our favorite local dives (Gods bless the Plaza), for a few rounds of pool and multiple excursions into the Jeapordy category of "Potent Potables". Eventually, Jeff was forced to retire for the evening, but Clay and myself had a little short of NOTHING to do the next day, so there we remained. Sitting at the bar... catching up, chatting it up, and continuing to partake in several more rounds of the Devil's Ambrosia...until 2 a.m. By the by, I have come to the realization that the term "rounds", while it obviously refers to a circle of friends sharing drinks, may also have a direct connection to the fact that one's head begins to spin after a certain amount of time partaking...Once again, I digress.
As our conversations under these conditions often do, Clay and I began to approach the realm of "waxing existential", covering weightier, more emotionally charged topics. At one point, we spoke of his wonderful, now departed, mother, and in the course of this came an inspiring phrase which I will share momentarily. We were discussing a quote that his mother lived by, one she had written on an average sticky note and left hanging on the inside of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. That quote stayed in the bathroom even after Clay left the house, and every time I opened that cabinet thereafter, I got to read it. When I moved, he made sure he got it, and rightly so. He felt, and I agreed, that it virtually defined her existence here and that in its simplicity should define all of our lives on some level. Now, embarrasingly enough, it has been an ungodly number of months and days since I have read it directly, but I believe it said: "I virtually sizzle with enthusiasm at all the things I have to today". It doesn't get much more upbeat. It not only acknowledges that every day of life contains things that must be done, things we probably don't want to do but have to, but the language of this mantra implores one to SIZZLE with enthusiasm over it. Bottom line: Every moment of waking life is something to be thankful for, no matter how shitty it may be judged by our minds.
At the end of this, Clay said to me, "It just reminds me every time I read it of how much she struggled to live life..."
And there it is.
Another simple statement that should define the fulfillment of existence: STRUGGLE TO LIVE LIFE.
Any life that is truly worth living MUST be a struggle. It must contain hardship, and tests, and inconvienences and every other unimaginable form of the unknown conceivable. This phrase doesn't require the enthusiasm (use it if you got it, though (Rebecca and Elizabeth)), all it asks for is the effort. STRUGGLE to live life, don't stand still in Bush's Bloated Bueracracy that is this country, this land of apathy and immediate gratification, and take every easy path and make every easy choice you can. Whatever you do, don't avoid life because it's a struggle, struggle to live life...because it's unavoidable.
STRUGGLE to learn.
STRUGGLE to change.
STRUGGLE to conquer fears.
STRUGGLE to affect others.
STRUGGLE to love.
STRUGGLE to live instead of making life a struggle. And be thankful for every inch conquered.
I myself have to hold on to this now as well, for I have a long way to go before I can truly live by my own words here...
But I'm trying to sizzle, if only for a few moments a day.
It's easy to remember that the first tenet of Buddhist thought is "Life is suffering." It's harder to remember that that is not all that it is.
STRUGGLE (Merriam-Webster) v.
1 : to make strenuous or violent efforts against opposition : CONTEND
2 : to proceed with difficulty or with great effort
One of these joyous occasions happened early last week when I met my friend Clay and my friend Jeff at one of our favorite local dives (Gods bless the Plaza), for a few rounds of pool and multiple excursions into the Jeapordy category of "Potent Potables". Eventually, Jeff was forced to retire for the evening, but Clay and myself had a little short of NOTHING to do the next day, so there we remained. Sitting at the bar... catching up, chatting it up, and continuing to partake in several more rounds of the Devil's Ambrosia...until 2 a.m. By the by, I have come to the realization that the term "rounds", while it obviously refers to a circle of friends sharing drinks, may also have a direct connection to the fact that one's head begins to spin after a certain amount of time partaking...Once again, I digress.
As our conversations under these conditions often do, Clay and I began to approach the realm of "waxing existential", covering weightier, more emotionally charged topics. At one point, we spoke of his wonderful, now departed, mother, and in the course of this came an inspiring phrase which I will share momentarily. We were discussing a quote that his mother lived by, one she had written on an average sticky note and left hanging on the inside of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. That quote stayed in the bathroom even after Clay left the house, and every time I opened that cabinet thereafter, I got to read it. When I moved, he made sure he got it, and rightly so. He felt, and I agreed, that it virtually defined her existence here and that in its simplicity should define all of our lives on some level. Now, embarrasingly enough, it has been an ungodly number of months and days since I have read it directly, but I believe it said: "I virtually sizzle with enthusiasm at all the things I have to today". It doesn't get much more upbeat. It not only acknowledges that every day of life contains things that must be done, things we probably don't want to do but have to, but the language of this mantra implores one to SIZZLE with enthusiasm over it. Bottom line: Every moment of waking life is something to be thankful for, no matter how shitty it may be judged by our minds.
At the end of this, Clay said to me, "It just reminds me every time I read it of how much she struggled to live life..."
And there it is.
Another simple statement that should define the fulfillment of existence: STRUGGLE TO LIVE LIFE.
Any life that is truly worth living MUST be a struggle. It must contain hardship, and tests, and inconvienences and every other unimaginable form of the unknown conceivable. This phrase doesn't require the enthusiasm (use it if you got it, though (Rebecca and Elizabeth)), all it asks for is the effort. STRUGGLE to live life, don't stand still in Bush's Bloated Bueracracy that is this country, this land of apathy and immediate gratification, and take every easy path and make every easy choice you can. Whatever you do, don't avoid life because it's a struggle, struggle to live life...because it's unavoidable.
STRUGGLE to learn.
STRUGGLE to change.
STRUGGLE to conquer fears.
STRUGGLE to affect others.
STRUGGLE to love.
STRUGGLE to live instead of making life a struggle. And be thankful for every inch conquered.
I myself have to hold on to this now as well, for I have a long way to go before I can truly live by my own words here...
But I'm trying to sizzle, if only for a few moments a day.
It's easy to remember that the first tenet of Buddhist thought is "Life is suffering." It's harder to remember that that is not all that it is.
STRUGGLE (Merriam-Webster) v.
1 : to make strenuous or violent efforts against opposition : CONTEND
2 : to proceed with difficulty or with great effort
posted by Sean Corley at 9:39 PM
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