the now.

‘last time i wrote about what used to be. today i’ll catch you up, just a little bit, on the right now. but before i do, please allow me to remind you that Life moves at an unbelievable pace— and what be this morning as i write, might not necessarily still be this eve as i sleep.

now. let’s kinda sorta pick up where last we left off — reminiscing about what had once been… and pondering if it be’d anymore.

. . .

it is good to remember, sometimes, my sweet friend.

but memory lane can be a deathtrap of disillusionment, too. easily sucking us in + stucking us there, for much too, much too long — as we lie to ourselves that time gone by was very much different than it really was. that our past was unclouded with troubles and difficulties, or maybe void of all joy whatsoever. and that if we “could just go back to that one time,” than we could be happy again. or if we “could just delete those four horrible chapters,” our Lives would have turned out so much better.

the same thing is true when we travel in the opposite direction of time — in the what is yet to become. just like we get stuck in the past, some of us are so busy looking at that distant horizon — the “when [ insert milemarker here ] happens, i will finally be happy.” ( or even more miserable, for my pessimists out there. )— that we lose all sight of the miles inbetween the now and the future. and in our poorly focused vision, we miscalculate the incredible number of steps needed to make it successfully to said exciting or dreadful destination.

i was reminded recently — and what an impeccable reminder it be:

“everywhere you go, there you be.”

talk about some scrumptious truth right^ there. now let’s take a bigger bite and chew on what it actually means.

. . .

your past wasn’t totally perfect nor completely tragic. your memories sometimes lie. your mind remembers the big things. and from what i have experienced in my own personal Life, we don’t always have a say in what our brains lock in as, what i refer to, concrete memories.

in the very same vein — your future will not be totally perfect nor completely tragic. your visions and expectations are flawed. your mind projects a scenario based on the quality of your thoughts, and then your Life catches up somewhere around those neurological firings with what some of us sober-minded and awake people refer to as “reality.”

reality / noun / re·​al·​i·​ty | / rē-ˈa-lə-tē / plural realities

1: the quality or state of being real

2a(1): a real event, entity, or state of affairs

(2): the totality of real things and events

b: something that is neither derivative nor dependent but exists necessarily

reality that is neither totally perfect nor completely tragic, but dancing somewhere along the curvy road of halcyon and horror, chaos and order.

. . .

if you’ve been on the planet for any decent amount of time, you should know by now that you have a say in your Life. you are not a victim of circumstance, regardless of what anyone says. chances are they are selling you something anyway. and it’s as good a time as ever to learn how to not buy stupid shit.

*note to self: future book or album title?

your best days are not behind you. ‘even if you peaked early and have been crashing ever since. it is always an incredible day to start anew — to begin again again. to rewrite your density, ( Back to the Future reference; just go with it. ) and actually become the hero of your story. even with the odds stacked as high against you as they are right now.

what better narrative than the one where the hero is as good as done, over, finished before he musters the courage to dig way down deep and save the story, after all Hope seems lost?

we all Love a happy ending for a reason— we were Created BY them.

. . .

tragically enough, though— most of the people i encounter in this world today — from strangers to lifelong friends, from the little people who ride my schoolbus to family — are absolutely miserable, sad souls walking around in their miserable, sad skinsacks, mindlessly scrolling through the junkfood feeder of social media thinking that everybody on the planet has it better or easier than them. and if they just had a little more money, or perhaps a better job, or maybe a less corrupt government— HA!, or even a sexier body, than they’d finally be ready to Love their Life the way they were Created to Love their Life.

if this^ is you, stop this self-destruction right now.

you are sucking at Life, and also sucking the Life out of the rest of us who actually know that happiness is work and the Good Life is worth fighting for.

. . .

oh my, my, my— i am way off on a tangent. and here i thought i’d be telling you about where i be now.

. . .

oh wait.

perhaps i just did.

[ insert clever smirk and wink. ]

. . .

you know that i Love you— each and every one of you. i know you from all different walks, all different tributaries that flow into the River of Life. i see you. i see your hearts. and i know that each and every one of you was Created in Love and fear. Love from a perfect Daddy; fear from a wise Daddy.

i also believe that the absolute best is yet to come— for you. for me. but i undoubtedly believe that we actually have to get up off of our over-indulged and endlessly-entitled rumps and recklessly pursue the best. we have to get hungry for Abundant Life — which means not always stuffing ourselves full and letting the literal and figurative hunger pangs actually hit our bodies and minds and souls. we have to take risks — which means taking absolutely terrifying and unsafe steps in order to reach new heights; to stay unstuck from the yuck. we have to continue changing and becoming and growing, so much so that it hurts. and then lather, rinse, repeat.

[ reread those last 2 paragraphs until they sink in. ]

. . .

today is a great day to be the you that you’ve always wanted to be.

journey well, my sweet friend — now.

Love you. mean it.