SELF HELPING
Saturday, January 23, 2021 - daily column #6646
I saw a cartoon recently – two guys* lamenting their situation.
One guy was wondering what he should give up for lent this year.
The other one was fidgeting with his collar and said he was giving up lent.
This serves to illustrate that we should all question, and where appropriate, give up what is false or controlling or manipulative in our lives and instead hold true to what makes our spine stand straight.
We are each tiny.
As insignificant as a grain of salt or grain of rice – we don’t matter, and won’t matter.
But we aren’t salt.
We aren’t rice.
We are humans.
We walk erect, have many senses, speak, hear, think, and judge life as we see it coming at us. We need not run for the hills nor dive into a stormy sea. We need to stand tall, not be small, and stop eating everything we are fed by those who serve only themselves.
As this month will soon be over, I can attest to several things I’m grateful for, happy with some things I’ve resolved, and saddened that too many people keep dying from a pandemic the world has yet to get a handle on.
I listen every day to the latest press braggadocio of warp-speed without a plan, purchasing power without Justin-time delivery (sorry, the pun opportunity to give our Prime Minister criticism is something he richly deserves – and I giggle at the wordplay).
People, collectively, have a poor memory – and when we are trying to withstand or get past something horrible, the media-politico machine over-fills us with whatever is above the fold in today’s newspapers and linking bird-cages next week.
News is fleeting, people are fleeting, and humanity is fleeting.
Help is not on the way.
If you waiting for the government of any country to see the light and magically guide its citizens through the minefields of this year and next, you are going to lose sleep, pull out your hair, and be harmed by that assumption. This is not the time for laissez-faire citizenship.
If we have a year with an epiphany, that’s spectacular.
If we have one a month, it’s time to be overjoyed.
And, if we have a life-altering thought today – well, I just don’t know how to express my excitement enough, but I am expressing it here and now.
I cannot know what I cannot know – but what’s stopping me from finding out or figuring it out?
In recent weeks I’ve seen ups and downs of mood, weight, temperament, and resolve – some of it to drive me a bit nuts at times, partly to cause me to have greater aspirations than I ever thought possible to have, or for anyone to achieve.
No, I’m not running to be elected king of the world, but I want to change the world.
No, I’m not holding a winning lottery ticket because I’m feeling luckier than that.
I don’t think I’m having a mid-life crisis fifteen-years late, but I might be …
Realizing we are who we are, rather than what we say we are, is not just a branding/marketing thing or stare at our peach-fuzzy navel – rather, it is cathartic. And in saying that, should anyone wonder, I’m not having dark self-destructive thoughts (though I’ve had plenty this past year), I’ve picked myself up, dusted myself off, and I’m starting all over again. Habits, those good new ones, have slipped off-track, but I’m back. Habits, those new ones I want to get into, I’m gearing up.
If you are wanting your life to change, there is only one person who can help you – so, what are you waiting for?
The road is bumpy, our mild winter is turning colder, and the horizon is uncertain – but when you look at the horizon, you know where it is. No matter which way you point, it’s over there …
Yes, cold and bumpy, sprinkled with some joyous moments.
The only help you can count on is from yourself and from trusted friends. For friends, call them. If they don’t answer, call me. If I don’t answer, call your local distress line. If they don’t answer, call 911. If they don’t answer, be patient, they are overloaded and overwhelmed almost everywhere.
A year ago, the Chinese government locked down Wuhan.
We got scared, but we got over it.
We trusted people who know what they are doing. That was great, but then we (meaning the collective worldwide WE) trusted those who didn’t know what they are doing. If you take comfort in Trump departing and Biden arriving, remember that it is mostly a political/media brother love’s travelling salvation show …
The life we save, the life we protect, needs to be our own. It is our responsibility, and we cannot hope to help anyone else if we do not stay strong, healthy, and clear-headed.
*OK, the cartoon was of two priests, but I think the joke works just fine without clerical collars.
Reader feedback:
Hello Mark, this is a message I needed to hear today! There is a lot happening with Confederation Creek in the last 24 hours. Suddenly I wish things were quiet again. Who would have thunk? Warm regards, SL, Calgary, AB
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