A parting thought as this year heads out (and about time….2016 can go die in a fire….David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Lemmy, Florence Henderson, Prince, Alan Thicke, Natalie Cole, George Michael, Gene Wilder, John Glenn, Anton Yelchin, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Dan Haggerty, Abe Vigoda, Glenn Frey, Nancy Reagan, etc etc etc and now Carrie Fisher??)
Note to self: and yet Keith Richards is still upright. Not wishing anything bad on him but you have to wonder, right?
Oh, yeah, my original point.
With so much bad mojo floating around, remember, there’s good out there, too, and we owe it to ourselves to keep that flowing. This came to mind on the heels of a conversation last night and a meme someone posted today, about if you have a friend for 7 years, you will have them forever.
Not true. Friendship, like any worthwhile relationship, takes work. So here I wanted to remind you, be aware of how you treat your friends. When you see them a lot, it’s easy to take them for granted. Not that you love them any less, but you simply can’t imagine them NOT being there, eh? So in appreciation for the friends who gave me the warm fuzzies this holiday, when holidays are such a wretched time for me, I’m saying a couple little things.
You found your significant other? Damn, that’s great. Seriously. I have no shot, I’ve decided. Not gonna happen, but I am genuinely happy for those who have. Until, like an old sock, they drop me. And a couple have. I try to be understanding. Some people really can only fixate on one other person in their life at a time, so others get left by the wayside. But when we spent so long doing things together, now what? You never think of me? You’re too busy? No time? I’m not asking the world. A text, to see how I’m doing? Oh, let me post something on FB about pain, or surgery, and you’re right there to comment on it.
Think about me when I’m well (and that’s an example….ANY of your friends, touch base with them, for no reason other than you’re thinking of them). Life is WAY too short, as 2016 is trying to pound home. You don’t know when you’ll touch base with them again. That chance may not come, and there may not be a “went to the doctor” post to warn you.
Also, random acts of kindness. To friends, and to strangers. Some are unintentional, even, just a slice of doing the right thing. I was at Hannaford a couple weeks ago, and after loading up my car I was walking the cart back to one of the stalls in the lot, and a woman thanked me for doing it. I was confused, and she said, “I hate when people leave them around, and then they roll into cars or block spaces.” And I said, “Oh, yeah, I hate that, too, so I always put them away.” Maybe that sounds trivial or stupid but hey, me and that woman both felt good for a few minutes, we bonded over something that silly. And isn’t that a good thing?
Relish what your senses tell you. Enjoy every taste. Savor the feel of that plush fleece throw. Live for the moment. Love the sunrise, the sunset, that purply-pink streak in the sky. When will you see it again? Maybe tomorrow, but maybe never. No matter how anyone may treat you, you deserve it. That’s nature’s little show just for you, seen only from your viewpoint.
Yes, easier to say than to abide by. All I ask is that we all try, and that’s something. And 2017 can’t help but start off better.
azbaelus 