Understanding
Some people seem to spend their entire lives searching for something that's just without of reach. That something is unknown, indescribable, and in fact, intangible. It doesn't exist, and thus the wild goose chase begins. Whether you call it love, happiness, acceptance, success; there are those who are not happy with whatever amount of it they achieve. It's always about more, or a different kind, or something else altogether. It's true that you don't always get what you want, but that sometimes you find what you need, and that you don't know what you have until it's gone. Old sayings that have become pop songs that live on as sage advice throughout generations.
Maybe I'm boring, maybe I'm simple, maybe I'm disillusioned myself but I think being happy and successful is just not being miserable and a failure. If there is one person worse off then you, perhaps you should be happy for what you have. You may have to put some effort into this.
I think back to times people gave me "advice" and how wrong their words turned out to be. Some pieces of advice that I loathe, which I hope to never pass down to any children I might be lucky enough to influence:
"They're just jealous" - just because someone doesn't like you, doesn't mean they are jealous, inferior to you, or have low self-esteem. Maybe they just don't like you. Kids need to learn to deal with this. Adults need to learn to deal with this. There's plenty of people in the world - some will like you, some won't, and some may like you for a brief time and then grow tired of you to the point of holding you in contempt. It's just how things go sometimes. Grow thick skin and learn to trust your instinct.
"Never settle for second best" - this one's all in the way you interpret it. But I've had people who are so mystified by the "ideal" or "perfect", the superlative in anything, especially romance, that they will never be satisfied with reality. Guess what? There is no one - not a friend, nor a parent, and certainly not a romantic/life partner who is going to make everything a fairy tale for you. You have to work at any relationship you have. You have to allow the other person to accept their flaws as well as your own and push the other person to become the person they want to be. You have to allow yourself to be influenced by good people around you and strive to become an influence for someone else. You can't do this if you're always chasing rainbows with your head in the clouds.
This world is not meant for sissies. Shit happens. Life happens. Sometimes life = shit and no one will help you clean up the mess. But with age, experience, and most of all a desire to understand, humans have an enormous capacity to grow and thrive in this world; to share hard-earned wisdom and love and knowledge with others.
When I was little I didn't understand death, sex, or money. I've only begun to have a grasp on the first two and my life is probably 1/3rd over. There is still so much to be learned but I'm ready for it. I'm ready for the let-downs, the disasters, the heartache. I'm also ready for the simple pleasures, the boring times of simply being, and the ecstatic rollercoaster rides that will inevitably come along when they are most needed.
Won't you come along with me?
Maybe I'm boring, maybe I'm simple, maybe I'm disillusioned myself but I think being happy and successful is just not being miserable and a failure. If there is one person worse off then you, perhaps you should be happy for what you have. You may have to put some effort into this.
I think back to times people gave me "advice" and how wrong their words turned out to be. Some pieces of advice that I loathe, which I hope to never pass down to any children I might be lucky enough to influence:
"They're just jealous" - just because someone doesn't like you, doesn't mean they are jealous, inferior to you, or have low self-esteem. Maybe they just don't like you. Kids need to learn to deal with this. Adults need to learn to deal with this. There's plenty of people in the world - some will like you, some won't, and some may like you for a brief time and then grow tired of you to the point of holding you in contempt. It's just how things go sometimes. Grow thick skin and learn to trust your instinct.
"Never settle for second best" - this one's all in the way you interpret it. But I've had people who are so mystified by the "ideal" or "perfect", the superlative in anything, especially romance, that they will never be satisfied with reality. Guess what? There is no one - not a friend, nor a parent, and certainly not a romantic/life partner who is going to make everything a fairy tale for you. You have to work at any relationship you have. You have to allow the other person to accept their flaws as well as your own and push the other person to become the person they want to be. You have to allow yourself to be influenced by good people around you and strive to become an influence for someone else. You can't do this if you're always chasing rainbows with your head in the clouds.
This world is not meant for sissies. Shit happens. Life happens. Sometimes life = shit and no one will help you clean up the mess. But with age, experience, and most of all a desire to understand, humans have an enormous capacity to grow and thrive in this world; to share hard-earned wisdom and love and knowledge with others.
When I was little I didn't understand death, sex, or money. I've only begun to have a grasp on the first two and my life is probably 1/3rd over. There is still so much to be learned but I'm ready for it. I'm ready for the let-downs, the disasters, the heartache. I'm also ready for the simple pleasures, the boring times of simply being, and the ecstatic rollercoaster rides that will inevitably come along when they are most needed.
Won't you come along with me?
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