I wish I had some crazy story to tell you, some hilarious off-the-cuff moment in life that necessitated the near 3-month hiatus from writing that I've had as of late. But the truth is, life happened and I sort of put it in cruise control. I can also be very, very lazy.
But some very, very great life happened within those three months: Whiskey & the Wolves continues to gain momentum, albeit a little slower than I wish; my wife and I moved into our first place together after over two years being married and over seven years of being together; one of my dearest and oldest friends got married over a 4-day weekend extravaganza that might have killed part of my liver but revitalized a part of my heart (the ole' give and take); my old band 9 Paces West reunited for a 6-song set after almost a decade - still got it, but playing power-pop-punk-rock definitely took its toll on my body (getting too old for that shit?); I got to see my parents after a much too long year and a half; and the Minnesota Vikings are dominating the NFL..
Good Times. Good Times.
I wish I could say that life couldn't be better. That would be a lie. And as much bullshit as we sling here at BD&LL, I think we do our best not to lie to you, our readers. Perhaps because we're good people (questionable) but really, honesty makes the best stories and without it, life lessons have no footing. So, honestly, life for me is "Okay" right now. There have been some pretty significant bumps in the road. I struggle some days and want to crawl into bed assuming the fetal position and say 'fuck it' to the outside world. We've - probably - all been there. If you haven't, good for you.
Bad Times. Bad Times.
The former we can choose to be thankful for and let's be honest, it's pretty easy to be thankful for the good times and I think most of us usually are, though we may take them for granted.
The later, we usually choose not to be thankful for. Actually, most of us would take being thankful for the bad times as a proof-positive sign of insanity. And perhaps saying, "be thankful for the bad stuff," is putting it wrong. Maybe it's more like, be thankful for the opportunity to better yourself, to realize what you don't want; be thankful that whatever bad shit happened, it left you standing, if not a little busted up, to see another day. Depending on the significance of the bad stuff, this really is the hardest life lesson to learn. On that level, I'm a poor teacher. The bad stuff I've encountered has been pretty mild compared to those who lose their children, soldiers who lose their friends, political prisoners, and those held in slavery around the world including those crippled by devastating poverty. Those are things I don't think you can be thankful for. But for those who have survived without losing hope, they may be the best life lesson teachers this world has to offer. Out of the terrible comes the beautiful and enlightening.
You can take that as academic BS if you like. I wouldn't blame you. Anyone who has encountered heart breaking moments would erase them if given the chance. But to ignore the travesty of life belies the truth that this stuff happens all the time and if we can't, either individually or collectively, learn to cope and make something better out of them, then we have lost hope. Hope is fundamental to survival. And that's really what this game is all about. Survival. Some of you may have noticed that I attach arbitrary numbers to my life lessons. Well here is one I haven't shared but is scribbled all over in my notebooks. It is is the only life lesson that doesn't have an arbitrary number: Life Lesson 1: Survive. On the one hand, it's a truism, a "life lesson" at its most basic level. On the other hand, I think it reminds us that there are different levels of survival: surviving well, and surviving poorly. I'll let you interpret that as you wish.
I read this somewhere: "Do not regret growing old. It's a privilege denied to many." So be thankful for those gray hairs, aching bones, and the more frequent trips to the neighborhood doc. If those are the worst things to happen to you, remember you're alive, as painful as that can be at times, and that since your conscious, you can reestablish the priorities that make living at least bearable and at best, completely awesome.
If Life is the headmaster, then we are all students. As in any class, some of the best learning happens when the students teach each other. "I get by with a little help from my friends." That's what this blog is about. That's what this life is about.
I hope you found this time of Thanksgiving to be full of the love, hope, and happiness. If not, maybe it's time to reflect on the things that prevent, and the things that may bring along those things. As Jason reminded us with his last post, we can be anything we want. Except an apple. You can't be an apple. But you get it.
I'll close with some incomplete thoughts, some quotes, and general debauchery:
..the Blues comes from the bad times, or rather as a coping mechanism for dealing with the bad times, and the Blues is a beautiful thing.
...it's the darkest nights that make the magnificence of the light of the day so obvious..
"Buy a ticket, take the ride" - Hunter S. Thompson
"Good times, bad times, you know I had my share; When my women left home for a brown-eyed man, well I still don't seem to care." - the Mighty Ones, Led Zeppelin
"The conditions what make things like they is today. Conditions. You know, when you don't have no money, no job, no place to sleep, you go to work, you start thinking evil... So conditions make these things happen today." - Howlin' Wolf
~Mike B.
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