Life's Little Lessons

It is so important to try and take away something meaningful from every day. That's why I write this blog. I like to prove to myself that I can come up with something interesting or amusing to write about everyday...well, almost everyday. I just don't have that kind of time people! Inquisitive readers have asked me what inspires me to write my blogs. I try to focus on events that will resonate with the majority, things that might make someone stop and think, "wow, I thought that only happened to me". I have found that it is pretty important to stay away from topics that are either grossly offensive, or just plain gross (like Isabella's insistence on eating her boogers). It is also wise to avoid overly specific references to individuals who likely DO NOT know you are blogging about them...Talk about awkward! Some days, however, coming up with clever material for a blog is just far too taxing. Take tonight, for example. I was feeling a little dry for material, so I asked some co-workers if they had any good suggestions. Stumped though they were, I now find myself inspired by the wit of one co-worker...We will call him, *Saul* (names have been changed to protect the innocent). Saul has a personal motto, one that he is hoping to somehow incorporate into the workplace. You know, because you can never have too many corporate buzz phrases! His is somewhat unique, however. Although I am sure I am doing his motto a grave disservice in my translation of it, it is essentially this:

"One black eye, and well...shit happens. Two black eyes and you're just stupid".

That wasn't exactly his suggestion for a blog (his actual suggestion had to do with pondering the query: Money or Love. Dude, that's a one-word blog...How boring would that be!). He had, in fact, shared his motto with me some time back. And it does have me thinking...Really, how true it is. Learning life's little lessons can be like being sucker-punched . You don't always see it coming, and can be powerless to stop it. If you have never been on Shiner's List, you may not be able to really get the true gist of this message, but I think that it probably speaks to many different situations, not all involving bruising. I got a black eye once. Once. I never fought with a doorknob again. But I think for many of us, Saul's motto is the equivalent of "fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, then I am just stupid and need to pay more attention to things". We can all relate to that. How many times do have to make the same mistake before we just stop making it? I guess it just depends on the scenario, the person, and their will. I know that I repeat the same dreadful mistakes over and over again. And it's not because I am stupid. It's because I am optimistic. Oh, stop laughing...I am optimistic. I keep hoping that the outcomes will be different, better...and although they have seldom been better, and different is not always a good thing, I still hold out hope. I could live my life with the proverbial two black eyes and never make any attempt at concealing them. I am just no good at hiding what's going on inside. It always shows on the outside.

You know what, Saul was right about something else, too...Shit does happen. Shit happened in my closet AGAIN this morning (I really am starting to hate that fucking dog). But like the black eyes, shit is manageable. You can choose to clean the shit up, or you can leave it there to get really stinky. And hard. If you don't find the shit in time, it gets really hard. Oh, sorry...I forgot about my earlier promise to avoid the "gross" topics. Anyway, today's life lesson is this: pick up the shit, dodge the sucker punches, learn from your mistakes. As I said before, I may struggle everyday to master these lessons, and it's not because I am stupid...It's because otherwise I would have absolutely NOTHING to write about.

Thanks Saul. You're a peach.