The Message of My Life
I’ve been on a creative journey as of late and looking for the specific message of my life.
Today, after hearing about two people who have left the planet too soon, I felt a deep sadness and welling up of frustration. There are so many people suffering and struggling with the fast-paced movement of life, the stress of financial responsibilities, and the fear of going it alone. I hear the pain of people on social media crying out for attention and belonging. It feels like the world is in trauma and in desperate need for connection.
Then I wrote this message. This feels like the message my life was meant to express. This is what my life has to say. Thank you for reading and experiencing it with me in advance.
TO YOU, My Planetary Friend,
I know that life is beating you down. It feels hopeless. It feels like there is no way out of this dark hole you feel slowly burying you under the weight and heavy load of responsibility and shit you have to handle. I understand. I am here with you. You are not alone.
The world wants to tell you it's all on you! You are alone, and there is no one there to help! But this is a lie society tells us so we keep scraping and clawing for every shred of marrow we can take!
The truth is, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
I don't want to give you some motivational speech about how if I can keep going, you don't have any excuses, or if I can do it, so can you. NO! That's NOT what I want to say! I want to say I'm right here with you. What you are going through is hard. And you have every excuse to give up and throw in the towel! I get it! Life is not a perfectly smooth paved path made for wheelchairs. Life is a black diamond, rutted, pothole-filled, rocky, bitch of a mountain bike trail! It's not perfectly groomed corduroy on a perfectly smooth sunny powder day! No, it's a downhill course with bulletproof ice, death cookie rock-hard snow ball chunks, and ruts as deep as you are tall!
Having experienced all of the above, here's what I know about life. It's going to hurt; you're going to get dirty, banged up, and feel deep physical and emotional pain. But it's worth it.
I know you want the pain to end. You want the financial stress to go away. You want your relationship to get better. You want your kids to love you. You want to stay in your house. You don't want to lose your job, your marriage, or your dreams and passions! And so, you are in total resistance to the rocky road. You want to turn the rocky road into a smooth road. And I'm not here to tell you how to make it smooth. Anyone that thinks they can make the rocky road smooth for you is full of bullshit! Cause here's the truth! The only way through this? Is to head face first straight into it! To dive straight down into it! Accept that this is just going to suck! You are going to get hurt! You are going to loose stuff! Relationships are going to change! You are going to change!
Here are the other two things I know:
Life isn't about reaching some destination. We don't get all the money, the perfect partner, get our kids into college, get the perfect job, go to the perfect seminar, know ourselves, get help, go on vacation, and then everything is just fine! Nope! That's not how this works.
The point of life is not to have and get. The point of life is to give.
This is what they don't tell ya. This is what we never hear in our consumer-filled world! We don't get fulfilled by stuff and having everything perfect. We are fulfilled by giving to others.
So, why go through the rocky road from hell?
So that you can sit next to someone someday and know exactly how they are feeling. To have empathy and to tell them they aren't alone. So you can relate and connect. So that instead of riding the rocky road alone, you can go with friends and have a ball! So that at the end of the downhill from hell you can cheers your friends and say, "We fucking made it!" And have a good laugh about turn 801 where you nearly lost your shit, but you recovered because you are a champion at recovering! So that life and all its ball-bashing mayhem can actually be enjoyable, fun, and you can feel the thrill of achievement and victory that comes with getting to the end of the trail and actually enjoying the vista of your life!
I know this may not be what you want to hear. You might have been looking for some tips and tricks for how to cheat life and win the lottery. Sorry, I don't have that kind of bullshit advice. Besides, I already tried all that shit, and it didn't even come close to the beautiful enjoyment I get from riding the steeps and deeps. It's the moments that really scare the hell out of me that I feel the most profound sense of gratitude, humility, and love. The moments when I lose everything that I can finally experience the simple joys and beauties of life! The stuff that buddha and Jesus talked about. The roses. The bread. The real shit. I would take the hard road over the paved any day because it allowed me to see you, hear you, and love you. And for that, all the pain was worth it.
If you are struggling with life and feeling hopeless, you are not alone. Please reach out for loving support. Please call The Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800-273-8255, to talk with a trained specialist who can give you the best care.
Thank you to Kyle Cottrell for the image.