I Look and I See; No Avoidance for Me

I see no shame in  being

able to say, forthrightly,

"Life kind of sucks,

a lot of the time, actually...

but I can still give it my best

and savor the good parts

and make peace with the inbetween

and fight my way through

the darkness."

Being a realist doesn't mean

that I'm apathetic or

resigned to failure;

it simply means that my best

is good enough

and I acknowledge hardship

for what it is; a natural part

of life.

No ribbons or flowery fantasy

required.

We are all of us

able to see the darkness

without being consumed by it.

***

Blast from the Past

This is 'tore-up-from-floor-up' because it's from

my own personal copy which I've been carrying around

about 20 years! It's all good--the message endures.

The Never-Ending To-Do List

I start my day with a hefty amount of work allotted on my "To Do"
list, and invariably, I'm lucky if one-third of it actually gets done--
on a good day!

But I don't sweat it. I do as much as I can, as best I can, and if
it gets done, great. If it doesn't, so be it. There's always tomorrow
to start off on a new list, with the old list's tasks carried over.

And along the way, new stuff gets added, old stuff has to be
done again, problems crop up, people clamor for your attention,
exhaustion sets in...and, well, you all know exactly how things
go with 'well-laid' plans. (Personally, I don't know 'well-laid' from
shit, but I'm just saying.)

And here's a little hint, in case you hadn't already figured it out
yourself; Shit NEVER gets finished!

There's always something popping up or lingering or resurfacing
or coming out of left field. It never ends.

So the key, perhaps, has to be maintaining cool while in the midst
of a never-ending to-do list, taking it as it comes, having a sense of
humor about it, blowing off what can't be gotten to, and learning to
not ride yourself for not getting it all done.

Recognize your limits. Be kind to yourself. Allow for your needs.

We aren't super-human, and pushing ourselves in an effort to prove
otherwise generally doesn't work out well!

Worry, at the end of the day, becomes a choice; do we stew over what
we have not accomplished, or bask in the pride of a job well done?

Nobody can do it all; don't believe the press or hype to the contrary.
Respect your abilities and your efforts.

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