Oh Life! I Have Much to Say!

Living in the midst of a truly craptastic period of our lives right now, my family holds together. Actually, the past two and a half years have been a wacky and wearisome roller coaster ride, but we continue to weather the storm with as much optimism as is humanly possible. Not long ago, I had a dear, dear friend accuse me of living my life as if it were a romantic comedy; when presumably, anyone else would think they were living in a horror flick. I like that notion. I really do. It’s what keeps me sane. Mostly sane. Well, mostly sane with a slight chance of a periodic mental break.

Life.

Lest, Dear Reader, you think I’m making light of mental illness; fear not! I come from a long and robust line of depression and anxiety garnished with a sprinkling of suicidal tendencies thrown into the mix. So … yeah. There’s that. Which means I’ll gleefully take the mania where I can.

Alas, Life has a way of kicking you in the ass. [Kindly note: I want this as my epitaph.] Somehow, some way, you drag your broken and bedraggled carcass through one quandary after another and finally, hoarsely, exclaim “Huzzah!” only to find your feet planted smack dab in the middle of an even bigger hornet’s nest. Hopefully, Life then takes pity and allows you a brief moment of respite. You exhale and think, Finally. I can breathe. To which Life replies, But wait! There’s more.

It won’t take long to find the Ugly in Life, be it terror, greed, or old fashioned stupidity. Everywhere you turn, there’s one Ugly after another. It’s universal. Heck. You’re likely dealing with your very own Ugly right now. But if your life is miraculously crap-proof, just watch the news. Does anyone do that anymore? Well, wherever you find your current events, tune in to that. Syria. Paris. Houston, Texas. Ugly is everywhere.

The funny thing [funny odd, not funny ha-ha] is that Life, while it never falls short in the Dread and Dismay departments, sprinkles itself with just enough Peace of Mind and Pleasure to keep it truly interesting. Now, if Life isn’t at the very least interesting to you, I daresay you aren’t paying attention. Or, as in my case, taking the right meds.

To clumsily misquote Uncle Walt and smoosh in a lil’ Uncle Billy, the Bard:

If Life’s such a shitstorm, what the hell is the point?  Answer? Because all the world’s a great big ol’ stage and everyone gets to play their very own part. 

 

In other words, Life’s worth living because it is. Life. The beauty of living in this world is that you get to choose your part. Whom will you be? Dashing Victor or Dastardly Villain?  Perhaps the Faithful Confidant or Humble Hero? A Cheerful Guardian? The Hapless Fool?  Personally, I tend to think of myself as the Wacky-go-Lucky Neighbor.

Of course, some people play their parts like a poorly rehearsed understudy with terrible stage fright on opening night. To quote the Dandy Quipster… [Let’s see how many of my favorite writers I can sneak into one article, shall we?]

 

 

Yeah, but I have a really crappy part, you say. If you don’t cotton to the part you’re playing, change it! There are no rule books that dictate which character you have to be. This cast list is not etched in Sharpie. In fact, as you grow older, and hopefully wiser, or say, the more accustomed to the stage you become, why not reinvent yourself?

 

 

Oh, I hear you naysayers balking, “But, you should always be yourself!” Trust me. I’ve met some pretty sick tickets and twisted bitches in this life. I’ve even been that character more than once myself. And, believe me. We undoubtedly all enjoy the show a lot more when they change.

 

 

But I like me. Okay, if you don’t want to change the part, my Friend, just rewrite the scene. You can you know. It may not be easy peasy, in fact in might turn out to be achy-breaky, but it can be done. Again and again, if you need it to. Just keep in mind that you aren’t alone on this stage called Life. Even that someone who has only a small walk-on part in your scene, is also an important member of the play. And though you cannot see it on the surface, they have their own Ugly to fight.

 

 

Yes, sometimes the Ugly is just so damn loud, it’s downright taxing trying to find the Beauty in Life. But it’s there. Take my kids. No, really. Take at least one. I’ll still have six. Waka waka! But seriously, Folks, my kids … they break my heart. Oh yes. They do. But then the lil’ buggers also have a habit of crawling right into that crack that they’ve made and cuddling up inside of it, nestling in, and melting my heart from the inside. And that, Dear Reader, is Life.

Further Reading/Sources

O Me! O Life!

BY WALT WHITMAN

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,

Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

 

                                       Answer.

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

 

As You Like It, Act II, Scene VII [All the world’s a stage] by William Shakespeare, 1564 – 1616

 

Be Kind Quote source *** Plato? Philo of Alexandria? Ian MacLaren? John Watson?