People often ask me why I am such an optimist. They ask how I can always remain positive about the world and the people in it. The truth is, I have to. I work in a field where I see the worst of what people do to others. I see people hurting not only themselves but their children. I see pain, anger, hatred, indifference, and death. I see parents who choose drugs and abusive partners over their children. I see children who are forever affected by the horrible events they have experienced. Cynicism is easy in my job. It is simple to become hardened and callous about the things that I see and hear about. All around me I can see people who have given in to this cynicism, and I can’t blame them. After seeing a certain number of negative things, the human mind naturally tends to think everyone acts that way. I don’t want that for myself. I have to actively seek the beauty in this world. I do everything I can to find something that takes my breath away each day. Whether it is a moving quote, an amazingly beautiful photograph, or a joke that makes me laugh till I cry, I find something each day. I confront cynicism where I find it and I do each and every thing in my power to help others to see the beauty in this universe. Because it is there. Beauty is all around us and we are so caught up in our pain that we don’t look for it.
And the truth is that we’re all in this together. Life beats down every person in a complicated and unique way. At some point everyone is hurt to the core by life, and I say, “Good.” Pain is a teacher. As in the ubiquitous example of a child touching a hot object, pain teaches you what not to do. Embrace your pain and use it for good. Use your past pains to help others avoid the same pains. Use the pains you as examples for yourself. Don’t use your pain as an excuse to avoid life, an excuse to deny beauty, or an excuse to hate. Your pain isn’t the end, it is the beginning. With each little pain we experience, we can choose to let the pain close us off from the world or open us to it. Let it open you to the wonders of the world and the beauty all around you.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Those Nights
It's one of "those" nights.
The nights where sleep seems like a foreign concept.
The nights where the silence of midnight wraps around you and seems to absorb even the omnipresent sounds of technology and human habitation.
The nights when solitude turns to loneliness and you finally understand the difference between those two words...
Yeah, it's one of "those" nights.
The nights where sleep seems like a foreign concept.
The nights where the silence of midnight wraps around you and seems to absorb even the omnipresent sounds of technology and human habitation.
The nights when solitude turns to loneliness and you finally understand the difference between those two words...
Yeah, it's one of "those" nights.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wow
December 1, 2010
Think about that date for a minute. If you're old enough to really remember the 90's, then you remember the hubbub around the year 2000, and if you're anything like me that feels like it was yesterday.
Looking back now, I see the vast majority of the things in my life that I will cherish have happened in the past ten years, but those years seem to have - in some way that conflicts with the laws of nature - to have taken less time than the ten before them (and for me, the six before that).
It was a whole month ago that I said to someone, "I can't believe it is already November." Yet now, that month seems to have been compressed into a week.
Days seem shorter, yet each moment seems sweeter. It is as if life is becoming distilled into an ultra-concentrated form, and I'm loving every second of it.
Think about that date for a minute. If you're old enough to really remember the 90's, then you remember the hubbub around the year 2000, and if you're anything like me that feels like it was yesterday.
Looking back now, I see the vast majority of the things in my life that I will cherish have happened in the past ten years, but those years seem to have - in some way that conflicts with the laws of nature - to have taken less time than the ten before them (and for me, the six before that).
It was a whole month ago that I said to someone, "I can't believe it is already November." Yet now, that month seems to have been compressed into a week.
Days seem shorter, yet each moment seems sweeter. It is as if life is becoming distilled into an ultra-concentrated form, and I'm loving every second of it.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Learning
I'm doing it.
One step at a time.
One day after another.
I'm learning how to grow.
I'm learning how to learn.
I'm learning to rely on myself.
I'm learning to rely on others.
I'm learning to fly.
I'm learning to love.
I'm learning to fall.
I'm learning to get back up.
I'm learning to heal.
I'm learning how to hurt and continue living.
I'm learning how to forgive.
I'm learning how to remember.
I'm learning how to say yes.
I'm learning how to say no.
I'm learning how to say please.
I'm learning what loss is.
I'm learning when to smile.
I'm learning when to cry.
Most of all, I'm learning what it means to be me.
And I like it.
One step at a time.
One day after another.
I'm learning how to grow.
I'm learning how to learn.
I'm learning to rely on myself.
I'm learning to rely on others.
I'm learning to fly.
I'm learning to love.
I'm learning to fall.
I'm learning to get back up.
I'm learning to heal.
I'm learning how to hurt and continue living.
I'm learning how to forgive.
I'm learning how to remember.
I'm learning how to say yes.
I'm learning how to say no.
I'm learning how to say please.
I'm learning what loss is.
I'm learning when to smile.
I'm learning when to cry.
Most of all, I'm learning what it means to be me.
And I like it.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Getting it off my chest
So, you want the truth. Here it is. I love you.
Ok?
No, I know it isn't ok. You don't want to hear that I love you. You don't want to hear that no matter how hard I try to pretend it isn't so, I can't stop thinking about you. You don't want to hear that every time you are in pain, I just want to hold you in my arms until the pain stops. You don't want to hear that my heart aches every time I see you, every time I hear your voice, and every time someone says your name. You don't want to hear that the happiest moments in my life have been the ones where I am just sitting and talking with you, or that the simple sound of your breathing is more soothing to me than hours of meditation.
You don’t want to hear any of that any more than I really want to say it.
Well, maybe you don't want to hear any of that, and maybe I don’t want to say it, but that doesn't make it any less true. Me not saying these things before now doesn't mean that I haven't thought them every day since I met you, because I have.
So there it is. There is my heart at your feet. Take it and treasure it or stomp it beneath your heel, because it doesn’t belong in my chest anymore, and it hasn’t for quite a while, I've just been too scared of the consequences to admit it
Ok?
No, I know it isn't ok. You don't want to hear that I love you. You don't want to hear that no matter how hard I try to pretend it isn't so, I can't stop thinking about you. You don't want to hear that every time you are in pain, I just want to hold you in my arms until the pain stops. You don't want to hear that my heart aches every time I see you, every time I hear your voice, and every time someone says your name. You don't want to hear that the happiest moments in my life have been the ones where I am just sitting and talking with you, or that the simple sound of your breathing is more soothing to me than hours of meditation.
You don’t want to hear any of that any more than I really want to say it.
Well, maybe you don't want to hear any of that, and maybe I don’t want to say it, but that doesn't make it any less true. Me not saying these things before now doesn't mean that I haven't thought them every day since I met you, because I have.
So there it is. There is my heart at your feet. Take it and treasure it or stomp it beneath your heel, because it doesn’t belong in my chest anymore, and it hasn’t for quite a while, I've just been too scared of the consequences to admit it
Monday, May 10, 2010
Just a Moment
Have you ever pondered the question, "If I could spend the rest of eternity in one moment, which moment of my life would I choose?"
I know I have.
What does it say about me that I know the exact moment I would choose? There's no debate, no questioning involved, the moment is chosen in my mind.
But moments don't last. Even if they seem to stretch out to eternity, a moment is just a moment. So even though you will never be able to spend the rest of your life in one moment, you can do everything in your power to repeat that moment over and over again. Barring that, sear the image of that moment in your mind. Cling to that moment like a castaway clinging to a piece of driftwood. For only that kind of moments, the ones that take our breath away and make us want to experience them forever, make life worthwhile.
I know I have.
What does it say about me that I know the exact moment I would choose? There's no debate, no questioning involved, the moment is chosen in my mind.
But moments don't last. Even if they seem to stretch out to eternity, a moment is just a moment. So even though you will never be able to spend the rest of your life in one moment, you can do everything in your power to repeat that moment over and over again. Barring that, sear the image of that moment in your mind. Cling to that moment like a castaway clinging to a piece of driftwood. For only that kind of moments, the ones that take our breath away and make us want to experience them forever, make life worthwhile.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Happy Monday
Good Morning (or if it isn't, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, or Good Night),
I love you. There, I said it. Stop looking around. I didn't tag anyone, because this is for everyone - that includes you. I purposefully did not post this on Valentine's Day because I think it is ridiculous that society feels a need to set aside a day for something that should be expressed as often as breathing. With my every breath, I love you.
Whether I know you or not, whether I have held you in my arms, kissed you, spurned you, ignored you, or seemed to hate you, the truth is, I love you. I don't care if our political or religious views clash; I love you. It doesn't matter what has happened or will happen between us; I love you. Whether the words we may have or may one day share are full of laughter or sharpened like knives, I love you now and will love you still.
I love you because we are connected. Connected by something integral to our existence. We are all part of this universe. More than that, we are part of this tiny speck of space dust we call Earth. Even more, we are both humans. Of all the creatures on this small spinning globe in the vastness of the universe, we are two members of the same species that makes up an infinitesimal portion of the life on it. We are more alike than we are different, and there is nothing that can change that - just like there is nothing that can change the fact that I love you.
So if ever you feel unloved, if ever the universe seems to be crashing down around you, read this. As you do, reach out and touch the screen, and know that as you do, I am reaching out through time and space to touch my screen back. There, on either side of the thin screens, our hands will be pressed as if a mere pane of glass separates us. Through that thin pane, feel my love and know that someone somewhere will always love you for exactly who and what you are.
Love,
George
PS - Yes, I know I cribbed off of myself and repeated some earlier posts of mine, but this was originally a Facebook note. I'm fairly certain that most of my Facebook friends don't read this blog, and I may love you, but I'm far too lazy to rewrite this to keep from repeating myself.
I love you. There, I said it. Stop looking around. I didn't tag anyone, because this is for everyone - that includes you. I purposefully did not post this on Valentine's Day because I think it is ridiculous that society feels a need to set aside a day for something that should be expressed as often as breathing. With my every breath, I love you.
Whether I know you or not, whether I have held you in my arms, kissed you, spurned you, ignored you, or seemed to hate you, the truth is, I love you. I don't care if our political or religious views clash; I love you. It doesn't matter what has happened or will happen between us; I love you. Whether the words we may have or may one day share are full of laughter or sharpened like knives, I love you now and will love you still.
I love you because we are connected. Connected by something integral to our existence. We are all part of this universe. More than that, we are part of this tiny speck of space dust we call Earth. Even more, we are both humans. Of all the creatures on this small spinning globe in the vastness of the universe, we are two members of the same species that makes up an infinitesimal portion of the life on it. We are more alike than we are different, and there is nothing that can change that - just like there is nothing that can change the fact that I love you.
So if ever you feel unloved, if ever the universe seems to be crashing down around you, read this. As you do, reach out and touch the screen, and know that as you do, I am reaching out through time and space to touch my screen back. There, on either side of the thin screens, our hands will be pressed as if a mere pane of glass separates us. Through that thin pane, feel my love and know that someone somewhere will always love you for exactly who and what you are.
Love,
George
PS - Yes, I know I cribbed off of myself and repeated some earlier posts of mine, but this was originally a Facebook note. I'm fairly certain that most of my Facebook friends don't read this blog, and I may love you, but I'm far too lazy to rewrite this to keep from repeating myself.
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