The irony of life…

I’ve arrived at the place in my life where a great deal of self-examination seems to be a constant. By that, I mean playing and re-playing current and past events which have taken place in past years. At times, it is quite a challenge to reach some level of understanding and acceptance of so many things I either would like to forget or have the opportunity to do much differently.

It is a struggle.

Seriously, how can anyone honestly respond to what makes life tick? What are the coping skills involved with trying to make so many missing emotional puzzle pieces fit in order to either find peace with a given situation or hide it behind some locked door in ones mind? Any possible answers? We’ve all had the desire to change the world, if possible, but learned that the only true power we have is to change ourselves. And, sometimes, things happen to you, horrible, painful and unfair things but, in reflection we end up learning that by overcoming those obstacles, we would have never realized our potential, strength, willpower or heart.

Yes, life can definitely be tough at times creating periods of hardship which leave us asking the question “Why is this happening to me?”, “Why am I suffering with this obstacle?” and “How can I get out of this negative situation?”

The struggle is real.

Life’s difficulties are not always pretty but, many times, they can help us to develop our strength of character, of mind and lifestyle. Without struggles, we will never grow and get stronger. It is important for us to look at the undesirable situations that come our way and learn how to meet those challenges on our own, not relying on help from others.

The only honest answer might be difficult to accept given the problems we sometimes face happen for our own good. Fire strengthens a crucible, bad situations and experiences can strengthen a person’s will to become the best individual they can be. Possibly the best way to comprehend what life is about is to never judge it by one difficult season. Don’t allow the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest that life brings.

From the Writer’s Workshop: What is the question that best defines your internal struggle to understand life? Do you think you’ll ever be able to answer that question? Why or why not?

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I never forget…

Can we be honest here? Good. Let’s face it, secretly, we all hold grudges, most of us likely think we shouldn’t and many of us deny that we do. Holding onto a grudge is much too negative, correct? Thinking positively, we should forgive and just move on, have a happy life and focus on how we get to that positive. Denying negative emotions and experiences while hoping they’ll disappear from memory and leave us thinking and feeling like nothing happened will lead only to more pain, conflict and stress in the long term.


What to do, what to do? Do we hold onto a grudge, then forgive and move on while that grudge hides in a corner of our emotions, poking us now and then? Doing so does not have to fill us with hate or make us bitter and miserable, at least not if we approach that line of thinking in an enlightened way. In fact, it can do the opposite by making us more forgiving and help us to honor our personal emotional landmarks. In the process, we can rack up some vital life lessons.

Think about it. Our value system, hopes needs and priorities all will act as a series of stepping stones, pointing us in the right direction for the best possible future. From a young age, many of us have been trained to think that holding grudges is a petty, compassionless and downright horrible thing to do. This means that, as we go through life and every so often find ourselves on the receiving end of some nasty treatment, we are ill equipped to deal with it in the best possible way.


This was the case for me, for many years and, too often with circumstances that caused much more harm than being woken up in the middle of the night. I felt so guilty about any grudges I held but, for the life of me, just could not let go of them. It wasn’t that I couldn’t give up my grudges, I just did not want to because, in some inane way, they were wondrous things and I enjoyed the rather strange sense of their empowerment. These grudges were the very route to positivity and well being that I needed. Hell, they weren’t really harming me or anyone else, I had no negative feelings associated with them, in fact, they were simply a collection of stories that were important to me and I wanted to keep them. They helped to protect me from future harm and would help me process any harm which I did experience in a healthier way.


In my own strange way I value and love all the grudges I deem worthy of holding. Each one has taught me, more than anything else in my life, the way I do and don’t want to live, especially where who and what to avoid is concerned. Each one reminds me to never forget.

From the Writer’s Workshop: Write a post based on the word grudges.

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Apply here…

Milton Berle once said “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door” and, given the current situation involving finding employment, no matter how many doors one might build, opportunity is almost barricaded behind each one; sadly, I can speak with authority on that.

It seems that, since the “pandemic” came to town a few years ago, it took so many jobs away and forced countless businesses to either downsize or close completely. For a while, those who remained gainfully employed either worked from home or took major steps backward in the job field from the positions they once held. In time, once the virus-hysteria eased, people slowly eased back into the workplace or, in many cases, started venturing through the gauntlet of employment listings.

Carefully orchestrated cover letters accompanying lengthy resumes are usually submitted via email, often one after another for a particular position. The wording outlines the experience and capabilities of each hopeful applicant who submits them.

And then, the wait ensues, outside of one closed door after another, where no amount of knocking brings a receptive reply, regardless of what Uncle Miltie once said, except in one recent case, and I share that reply, “You have a very impressive resume but we are looking for someone with less experience, we’re sure we could not afford you.”

That being said, my mission involving “Apply here” continues…

From the Writer’s Workshop: Write a post in exactly 8 lines.

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