Where is the hope in the future if only tears weep today? What is the point of tomorrow if today cannot be lived? Where is the legacy in hiding the adventures to read a book on another man’s adventures? For god’s sake, live a little! Wake up and smell the roses or go bloody skinny dipping in sub-zero weather! But for the sake of your sanity, get out and live!
Everybody walks troubled paths. Everybody has skeletons in their closets. Everybody misses somebody. Everybody has a bloody backache or a splitting headache. But that never stopped the brave from acts of pure idiocy. Yes, it’s true, blondes and idiots or drunken fools have the most fun! There’s no reason to fear the future for if the future fears you, then the world seems a lot more comforting. There’s always a solution for everything or, at least, a breather. Live today like you have always dreamt of living tomorrow. You’ll end up grinning like an idiot.
In a world full of doubters, don’t expect handouts of merciful self-esteem boosts. There will always be sunshine if you only you allow the dark eclipse engulfing your world to be eclipsed. The constant nagging feeling is that you just ain’t good enough to cut the cheese. If the world says you’re a prick, say thank you very much and live the dream. Being a self-absorbed prick is any day better than a depressed home-sick puppy. Don’t look back in anger, but forward in hope.
There will be the days when the sun refuses to come out and the rain just doesn’t stop being dreary. The weather is there to be weathered. Quit thinking that home is a place far away that can only be accessed on an expensive economy-class ticket. Home is where your heart is. Lay your heart down right here right now, for there is the comfort of change even in change. Don’t let your environment dictate your mood; let your mood dictate the environment. If for nothing else, smile more often. At least you give your facial muscles a workout.
Look not for an escape but for the wings of freedom. Except to face the unexpected and accept that the unexpected will always be unexpected. To fly, you don’t need the dosh of Bill Gates or the suave of James Bond. All you need is belief. All you need is faith. Not in the world or the weather forecast or even the Lord almighty. He put you down here so you can face the world not with grim grit but with optimism and hope. Believe in the man in the mirror. Trust his instincts. Embrace his warmth. Confide in him.
Everyday we will fight battles we hardly believe in, think of loved ones but never call them, dream of a vacation and never actually take them, fantasize about that hot brunette by the bar but never approach her or plain ol dream of dancing in the rain but it’s always freezing. Well, it might be time to wake up and actually start crossing off the crap you’ve never done in your life. Or, at least, make a list of crap to do that others might think border on a desperate call for counselling. Yesterday is another day lost to tomorrow, and today is another day wasted regretting yesterday. When is today really today then?
Someone once said, “The pursuit of happiness is the most ridiculous phrase because if you pursue happiness, you’ll never find it!” And that’s it basically. Don’t pursue it or look in dark corners of the world for it. It’s right there in front of you. Confidence is over-rated. Listen to your heart, open your mind and talk to the world. The funny thing about the world is it talks back to you.
Drink alcohol by the barrel. Smoke like a chimney. Act like a complete idiot on your first date and charm your way to another one. Pick up a random card trick. Talk to the next hot stuff that walks past. Greet complete strangers with a hug; at least you’ll have some neat bruises to show for it! Learn a new sport. Pick up a foreign language. Do whatever it takes to bring the magic back. Do whatever it takes to kick-start the magic. But live, for having regrets are bad for your 50-year-old future self. If not for anything else and you end up an old drunk in the local bar, you’ll have stories aplenty to fill the nights of loneliness. Let it not creep in too soon. There’s still half a century to regret yesterday.
