Turn on the news, it's there. Shamelessly eavesdrop, it's there. Talk to your friends...there's no escape
It seems every conversation, and every moment of the news cycle, it gets more and more hysterical and breathless. Politics right now is utterly exhausting.
We also learned yesterday of the death of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. Cornell, according to the medical examiner, died by his own hand. So many find that frightening, because he was SO talented. So creative. So rich...He had everything to live for, and apparently, for a moment, at least, he found his life unbearable.
He also left a devastating legacy behind for his wife and kids. They will never recover from this, and that is heartbreaking.
Chris Cornell was loved.
Suicide is something that has directly affected me, and depression has dogged me most of my life. It shakes people like me to the foundation, when someone that extraordinary decides to end their own life. A ghost of a thought whips through my very soul...if he couldn't find something to live for, my mind whispers, what about the rest of us? Does that happen to you?
Ugh. I squash that thought like a grape, at light speed.
Let me tell you what, about the rest of us. Our lives are already so very short, we can't waste them in fear, anger and self-hatred.
We cannot let those moments...fleeting seconds, or, even hours, of self-recrimination or self-flagellation, make us believe we have no worth.
Everyone has worth, on many levels. Most of us are not rich, famous or privileged. And most of us are absolutely extraordinary in many ways. Worth your weight in gold, you are.
Those who love you think the absolute world of you, warts and all. We are all flawed. And we are all capable of unbelievable ugliness.
And, with very few exceptions, we are all capable of great kindness and amazing love for one another.
Think, for a moment of some of your most-laugh-filled moments. You have made someone to hold their side and wipe away tears of laughter. Guaranteed.
Someone thinks you smell like cookies. Or a garden. Or sex on a stick.
Someone thinks you are a cool glass of lemonade on a hot summer day.
You have likely bailed a friend out of trouble, and picked them up when they fell. Hugged them through a death and raged with them over a divorce. You have probably held someone's hair when they had too much to drink...and ushered them out of a potential bad situation.
You matter to the only people who should matter to you, the people you love. And who love you. Dearly.
As for the current political climate, try not to get too bogged down in it. And remember, as a people we are some of the most giving and charitable in the world. All of us, no matter our political persuasion.
We live in a country where we STILL have the opportunity to say whatever we want, when we want to.
We still have a voice, and for every demonstrator for or against this administration, we are blessed. Be thrilled that those on the other side are free to speak. It means you are, too.
You and I won the lottery of life. We can drive what we want, wherever we want to go. I will continue to mock your Prius, but I'm not gonna stop you from getting one.
But seriously, test drive a 'Vette at least once. You're welcome.
We can choose who and what we will be. I chose me...what did you decide?
We can leave a job and start our own businesses, or, we can stay where we are, if we prefer.
We can love who we wish to love, and can choose that person for life, if we so desire. Or choose a couple of people, but that seems like too much work, to me. Have at it though.
We can live where we want, and with whom we choose. Or we can take half and go, if we decide it's not a healthy thing to stay.
Our homes are our sanctuaries, and we can defend them, and the people we love inside them, if we feel the need.
We can read any book we would like to read, without fear of reprisal. Yes, even 50 Shades, as God-awful as it is. No one will stop you. (I reserve the right to make fun. Without malice.)
We can spend our time on a Greek island, or fly to Bath to take the waters. Or take a bath, for that matter.
We can support the arts, From The Starry Night, to a cross in a jar of pee, if that's what floats our boats.
Maybe musical theatre is more your speed. Have at it, so I don't have to!
We can create our respective realities any way we choose.
No matter what's going on in DC or Detroit, we can still do all, or none, of the above.
Because we live here.
Living and dying and everything in between isn't dictated by a man in a White House, or a golden tower.
These are OUR stories. We get to decide the players, and the play.
I'm so very grateful for this life and these things. I am grateful for YOU.
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