Dante Alighieri -- and his supramuse, the Buddha -- had it right.
[WARNING: Digression into philosophical realms alert. Where I probably have no business. Sorry.]
Money-wise, anyway.
Having hung ten on the surfboard of life lately, I can dig it. Reality is both food in your mouth and the expectation of a roof over your head -- but on the board, it's a choice between one or the other. That's a place I never thought I'd go. But, well, you either wipe out or you stick till you get to the shore.
All is vanity -- or illusion, depending on whom you listen to. Including yourself.
"People are about as happy as they want to be," said Honest Abe. Think about that.
Does being happy mean safety and security? The knowledge that where you lay your head down at night will be the same tomorrow as today? That you will eat? That you will fulfill your social expectations -- pay your bills, step on the treadmill, not create waves?
I used to think so. Not no mo'. There is sublime liberation once you step out of the Comfort Zone.
In today's hermetically sealed, risk-free, post-modern, smart version of life, I'm worse than a heretic. I'm an outcast. An Oedipal exile. The worse because I was carefully groomed to groove into the track ... and didn't. I'm broke. Hanging on by my fingernails. One step away from the soup kitchen. (Ever see "Fun with Dick and Jane"?)
And I LIKE IT. Yes. Truly.
Why? Well ... David has a bit to do with it. And I don't think either Dante, the Buddha, Jesus Christ nor any other luminary ever accounted for how much being one half of a whole makes a difference.
For he does. He is so much me, and him, and us, that it is difficult to separate the sine waves, but the truth is, we just ... well, fit. For good, or for ill. Or, if you like, for better or for worse. *grin*
It's entirely likely both of us will wipe out. But until that day, I am living. We are LIVING. You know?
You have to admit that pretty much ALL of the social constructs we've carefully crafted for ourselves only give us the illusion (or vanity) that we Know It All. Well, we don't. And I don't want to. I LIKE living by my wits. For the first time in my life, I feel ALIVE.
Do you?
