Rise Above All Recession

"Stylo," Gorillaz

 Kill all my demons, and my angels might die too.

-Tennessee Williams

Generally speaking, I'm a glass-half-full person. The world is full of good things and I am lucky to have many of these good things in my life. I look under all the rocks in the tide pools and I greet my neighbors and I believe in the power of recycling.

Sometimes, however, life doesn't always deal the easiest, the fastest, or the best cards. Some days aren't always full of laughter or a mid-morning cup of extra coffee. Sometimes that kid is upset or we ran out of dog food or the gas light is on again or the power is out. Sometimes we'll bicker about why no one noticed the overdue AT&T bill. Sometimes my favorite show is unknowingly a re-run. Some days just won't stand out as the Best Ones. And, most likely, these days and moments will be filed away into a rather ambiguous and unmarked area of my memory, one I probably won't recall fondly, or even at all, in later years.

A few years ago, my bright-eyed and indomitable naive and over-dramatic self wouldn't have been okay with any of that. "Live life in the present! Find beauty in every moment! Make today better and more powerful than yesterday!" the shadow of my 23-year-old shell would shout, the irony-laden statements falling like broken glass.  Ironic, because I was hardly doing that myself at the time. I was too busy getting lost in APA format and credential classes while at the same time trying to be a first-year teacher myself. I was living in my classroom, drowning in gluesticks and Number the Stars posters. I was turning down Tim's La Jolla Cove kayaking offers and wondering if teaching would always be this time-consuming.

Today, I think I do a good job of appreciating what I have and cherishing the little things and genuinely enjoying the ride. With the exception of a time-machine to travel back a week and attend Coachella 2010 (while simultaneously still celebrating my best friend's birthday in San Francisco), I don't want for anything, and I really do know how lucky I am. However, I also think it's important to recognize and understand the value of the moments and days that just end up being Good Enough. They'll certainly be there. And not only are those days acceptable, they're necessary. Our days and months and years are full of peaks and valleys, and in order to appreciate and cherish the successes and excitements and "bests," we have to also endure and defeat the sad, unremarkable, and forgettable. Without them, it's impossible to truly know and treasure those days and moments that are nothing short of Perfect.

It's inevitable that, on some days, someone is bound to make you feel foolish and uncomfortable.

On some days, you might be just frustrated enough to lash out and misbehave even though you know it's wrong and you regret it afterwards.

On some days, the best part might simply be to find and curl up in the laundry, drawing comfort from warm and freshly-dried t-shirts.

 But perhaps the most important thing to remember is that, while life is full of risks, fears, and uncertainties, you just never know what big surprise might be waiting around the corner.

There is no need to say another word
It will be golden and eternal just like that
Something good will come of all things yet...

All the dark torturous memories
I do see my star still shining
All those years looking out of jail and ship windows
The irrational mortal loneliness is always crowned

These roads don't move;
you're the one that moves

-"These Roads Don't Move," Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard