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.

"It Is What It Is, And It Ain't What It Ain't."

Embracing chaos is recognizing the pointlessness of most things,

and the cruel, random savagery of this world. It can scare the

heck out of ya. It can crush the fragile belief systems and illusions

of coping that were long-ago taught to our impressionable young

child-selves.

But in the end, it's a good thing.

Is nihilism depressing, as it gets the villainized rep from so many?

No. It's Realism.

When you can squarely stare life in the eye and see it for what it is,

no pretense, and release the need for sugar coating and avoiding,

you go to a whole new level of contentment. Of strength.

Becoming, in time, unswayed by any and all.

No loss can touch you. No expectations to be dashed.

Let other people misinterpret your actions as cold, heartless, weak, 

unhealthy or what have you.

Let them malign til the cows come home.

No one ever understands anyone, anyway.

Relinquish the need to be understood.

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.'"

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