Wake Up!

There are days when you wake up and go through the motions.
You brush your teeth, splash some water on your face, put on your clothes, stand in line to grab a lottery ticket and a coffee, and head out to a job you hate. It could be a rainy Monday like today. You think neither of the past nor of the future. You exist to exist, and if for no other reason than your heart beats and your lungs breathe. And oh yeah, you're in debt.

But on occasion, perhaps once every few years, if you are very lucky and if you still have hopes and dreams no matter your age, you wake up and something quite extraordinary happens. You realize that you are beginning a brand new phase of life. That this morning, this very minute, is the beginning of something entirely new that will bring with it, new adventures, new places to see, new people to meet, new experiences and challenges that will both test your body and soul, and cleanse it.

You begin to live unconditionally, no longer burdened by other people who hurt you, drag you down, spread bad toxic vibes, shower you with guilt, sink their greedy teeth into you, laugh behind your back, plot, steal, lie, and cheat. These are the gluttons. The blind people who go nowhere and live only within the scope and range of their envy. They are poison and you are not obligated to tolerate them no matter their connection. They live sad and will die bitter.

This wake up moment will be one of complete clarity and peace. You will leave the past's successes and failures behind like a book you've finally finished reading and now placed on the shelf beside so many other books. You take a deep breath and you begin the day knowing you are reborn and that today is your first day of a brand new cycle. Your birthday so to speak. A clean slate

Make plans.
Have hopes.
Dream.
Buy plane tickets.
Get in the car and drive.
Take a train.
See the world.
Write a new book
Quit your job.
Leave the bills unpaid.
Get out of a bad relationship.
Be alone.
Realize that you have only one chance.
Help people.


Wake up!

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Life is Short...

On my way to the gym this morning I almost rear-ended a Jeep that had one those black, vinyl tire protectors wrapped around the spare tire which was attached to its back gate. Painted on the tire protector were the words,

Life is Short. Live it.

Simple. Declarative. No decoration or funky colorful illustrations to further stress and/or dilute the point. Like the cups that are cracked and hooked above the sink, it made me think (thanks for the metaphor Wilco!). We all have choices to make in life. If we're lucky and have the means to do more than just subsist on what we make for a living, we find ourselves having more choices to deal with than we do decisions. So often life is a matter of no choice and it becomes an endless, almost hopeless pattern of work, TV, bed. You wake up one day and you're old, or worse, terminally sick. 

But those who wish to avoid the old, shoulda, coulda, woulda, would do well to pay attention to the words on the Jeep. You must make some very hard life decisions that might not always be so popular with those who love you. Those people who consider you family, friends, and even lovers and partners. Your decisions might even be considered selfish. But then, you must live with yourself day in and day out. If you are a writer or an artist, then you more than anyone know full well what it is to live alone, even when you live with someone else.

As my 47th year winds down, and my new books BLUE MOONLIGHT and MURDER BY MOONLIGHT get ready for publication in December, I look at my writing desk and see two more novels in the draft stages. I see my passport. I see some spare Euros and a whole lot of world I haven't yet experienced. I have my health, my career, my hopes and dreams. Over the past six months, I've spent more time at funerals and wakes than I have over the past six years combined. I know that one day, when I least expect it, my life will come to its final conclusion. Dust to dust. Worms to the flesh.

But for now, I fully realize that I'm left alone to sort out some serious decisions. Life decisions. In doing so, I will keep this clearly in mind:

Life is Short. Live it.

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