It's been quite a while since I've written anything. Sorta by accident, kinda by design.
I had wondered, if I just didn't write anything, anymore, would I care? I've come to the conclusion that, like drugs for some and cheese for me, the yen to sit down and scribble is something I apparently can't escape. If I didn't laugh, I'd cry. Maybe.
I've sat down this morning, with not much in mind. Well, there's always something rattling around in there, but I didn't have my usual "ah, that's what I'll post about" feeling. Truth be told, I'm bored. Too tired and lazy to do the mundane necessities today, so for once, my procrastination has sent me to write. Quite the conundrum, as it's usually the other way around. So, again, if I meander in my ramblings, wander off track and get caught in the nettles, just indulge me and leave me there with a stinging bum.
Hmm, what to write... I'm surrounded by friends, who, along with suffering their 9 to 5s, harbour secret and not so secret desires to fulfill their lives with something else. Not more, per se, just well, else. Something, that if we could wave a magic wand, our lives would be transformed. Not that their lives - or mine - for that matter, are bad at all. It's just that something that inspires you, lights you up from the inside and gleams in your eyes when you talk about it. The promise that you'll do 'it' someday. Some day we won't be slave to 'the man'. But there'll always be a man. He may not have you in an office for eight hours a day, but he's still there. However, I'd take it. And laugh and laugh. Even more than is usual for me.
My myriad family members, friends and acquaintances are a melting pot of talent just waiting for a different type of man to transport them to another realm. Some day your beautiful photos will hang in galleries worldwide. They will see what I see. Some day your band will be famous. Some day, my travelling friend, you'll sell that piece. Some day, you'll sing more than Karaoke. Some day, a renowned graphic designer! Some day, you'll be costumer to great directors. Some day, my funny friend, you will swap statistics for sitcoms. Some day, you'll make a dent with that charity. Some day, your lovely movies will be loved by more than us! Some day you can give your family its every desire. Some day. Done! Don't you wish it was that easy? Or would easy be too much? I used to work with a guy, very funny guy, who when we used to talk about winning the lottery, selling a script, whatever and inevitably it would culminate in us "rolling in it", some of us would talk about how it absolutely wouldn't 'change' us. He would look us straight in the eye and say "I'll be honest. I'd be the biggest asshole ever. The biggest dick you'd ever meet." And we'd laugh and roll. Only partially because we knew it would probably be absolutely true. Honest.
But here we are today. Plugging away to make the necessities of life. Stringing it all together. Bills and worries and day-to-day grind, like the majority of humans. I liken that chain to those paper dolls we used to cut out as kids. I never liked them all the same, so would color and feature each one differently. That's how I see life. The chain that connects family and friends, all different. I see my friends and loved ones dangling on those paper strings, some smiling, some scowling, some sad, but give 'em a good shake and they dance. And they make my day.
The best thing you can do for yourself is surround yourself with great friends and family. You can't help but laugh and enjoy the moments. I rank humour and laughter, particularly with those you care about, to be of the utmost importance. To stop and just laugh. It's what keeps us all going when those paper dragons are snapping at our heels. It's amazing how much more we can take, with friends around to make you laugh and push you on, and vice-versa, when life spoons on the absurd. When there are things to cry about. It's certainly not always 'the hills are alive' and all that all the time, but as long as there's a pulse in that mound...
I've long known too, that humor can take you far, or at the very least, a couple of steps upwind of the whip. I've often been told that I get away with murder because of my, shall we say, turn of phrase. I would probably tend to agree, as there's no other possible explanation, it seems. I like to be straight and honest. Maybe Oscar Wilde had something with his "If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you" observation. There definitely might be something to that one, in light of the fact that I'm still ticking.
At this point, I'll reference him again, and agree: "I'm not young enough to know everything", and I'll add: but not too young not to know when I have it really good. Sometimes, that knowledge makes me laugh.
