People have a “bitch bucket.” Things they like to bitch about go in this bucket. They say “if this was better, I wouldnt bitch so much,” but I think, “uh uhhhh, you’d put something else bucket though. You like reaching in the bucket and finding something to bitch about.”
People are like that with all of their troubles. It’s part of their character. If they let their troubles go, or fixed them or at least put them in proper perspective, I don’t know if they would know themselves.
People wear all sorts of masks to find a way to be “ok,” and lie to themselves all the time. Everyday. They negotiate in their head and compromise and eventually settle for the best of what they think they can do or be. I’m not sure there’s a lot of legit ate effort behind it all.
I lost a good friend recently. Someone as close as brother, everything but blood. Someone I grew up with at the time I grew. When we were young, we were pretty inseparable, we all were. He was someone that could sit next to me after being away for months and it not matter. Didn’t even need words. He had some troubled times and people distanced. They do that when people struggle, slip or even change. But I’m like my mom. I like to sit in the corner and keep open chairs for people to visit and talk. So no matter our path, he knew I always had a chair for him, and he had one for me. We didn’t talk daily or even weekly. As adults, it was birthday and holiday texts, a lunch every few months, and definite “conspiracy theory,” emails. I probably wouldn’t have understood 2020 at all without him. He was hilarious. He was a great guy. When we would meet, no matter what was going on, I always saw the guy I knew inside. Same walk, same talk, and I’d watch him leave, my man. Then I watched him leave.
Haven’t felt the same since.
I see a lot of fake social media identities. People who aren’t very successful (business, relationships, health, you name it) but posing as if they nailed their goals, struck oil, living the dream, and now a visionary down a path. When people do this, I see it and think “you know we know you, right?” Just be honest.
When people are not honest and honest with themselves, I worry there’s something very dark inside, almost a possession of sorts. I’ve been there, doesn’t feel good. Dishonesty with yourself, dishonesty with people creates a deep anxiety (unless you’re a psycho, I guess). Always changing “masks,” from room to room, group to group, “wait, who am I for these people?,” and ACTION, off they go playing a role.
It’s good to practice gratitude; honest thought/speech/action; courageous speech/action. It’s relieving and more peaceful. It makes life easy where you can find a zone and focus in on things that actually matter. Bitterness, dishonesty, living in fear, all of that feels like running in mud. Carrying bags of weight. Swimming upstream. It’s hard, it’s tiring, it sucks. But gratitude, honesty and courage feel free. Simple.
I have a few friends that are hard to introduce. Hard I guess because the part I want to talk about I worry is the part that makes you look at me different. Because everyone has their own biases when it comes to religion and faith. I’ll tell a really brief piece. I’ve felt like I was atheist once. I’ve read plenty of Buddhist and Taoist readings. I’ve tried to lean into science to feel comfortable not having faith. But 100% my life changed the day I prayed for fear and anxiety to be taken away. I prayed for strength and patience. I prayed for courage and clean vision. I gave thanks. It wasn’t hard. It was a good practice in humility.
The world is not easy. There are challenges all around, everyday. Bad things happen and we need strength and stay standing. We need patience to not explode, to weather the storms. We need courage to speak and act properly. We need truth to help us align our thoughts so that we have clear direction and aim in life, in nearly every way I’ve been able to think of.
Something to think about.
https://youtu.be/DQZoxlBXBXA?si=-h9C9R75Ib-Q91bG
