Just a quote

Sometime the simplest statements become so very true and profound. 

Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened. Dr. Seuss

 

Stillness

     You ever have one of those days when you are sure your life is going to shake apart? Sure you have! We all do. It doesn't matter if it is job, relationship, moving, or any combination of them with a cosmic meltdown stirred in. Things get shaken up from time to time in life.Sometimes when things are at their most hectic, or "shakiest" if you will, is the time when you need to step back and simply be still. This can mean dropping off the grid for a couple of days or it an mean something as simple as taking an extra long shower. The important thing is to take a small step back from what is causing the most shaking because "still" ain't always still lol. It could mean not worrying about schedules or what the bastards and bitches you may work with are saying to get under your skin. It might mean forgetting about what kind of dumb-assery the people in your life are up to so you can work on and finish the book, painting, quilt, video, etc etc. Hell it might even mean forgetting about your job and focusing on keeping a fire going while worrying about your shelter falling on your head lol. Maybe it is means turning off the TVs, smart phones, computers. Stepping back and just sitting for five minutes being, you know, still.

Poetry from a FreezerMonkey

　
      Had no clue what to put on here today, but apparently I have to put something... so I have been told lol. I'm trying to keep this somewhat regular (once or twice a week) so here goes. This is something I wrote a little bit ago. People that know me will be surprised that I can string a thought together, let alone create something close to poetry :) Let me know what you think.

Struggling
Hanging as if by a loose tether,
tossed about by a storm of memories.
Thrown about like someone’s garbage,
into the truck I go.
Crushed down deep into myself,
fighting for every breath.
Pushing through the shit,
finally I break through.
Struggle is growth.

     I don't know anything about poetry or creativity of any kind but I do know that sometimes when you are at your most angry or lonely or whatever you can come up with some gold even when you feel like all life is giving you is crap. But every bit of growth in this condition we call human is created by some kind of struggle. Whether it is getting in shape or growing a child, it is some form of struggle and growth. So remember when it gets bad to keep struggling and you just may break through whatever it is. And if you don't at least you never gave up...and that may be the point of it all.
     As always, these are just musings, mutterings, and mental meanderings of a FreezerMonkey and should be treated as such.  

What's in a name?

     Since I may eventually have more people following this little experiment than just two or three, I guess I should explain how FreezerMonkey's Musings came about.
     The name FreezerMonkey is associated with the job I do. I never really got behind making a job sound fancier than it is. You know what I mean, a janitor becomes a "custodial engineer" or a garbage man becomes a "sanitation removal specialist"... that sort of thing. So one day the boss of the boss of the boss of my boss (a long-winded way of saying a company big-wig) comes in and is making the rounds. Doing the "hey you guys are doing a great job" schtick. Well anyway he comes to me and says, "You still doing this? How is it going?". And before I could stop myself I say, "Well, I think I'm the only one who has an IQ low enough to kinda enjoy this. All I am is a freezer monkey so I guess it's going ok."
     And that is the somewhat boring story of where I came up with my FreezerMonkey moniker, although it wasn't so boring for my bosses. They really weren't expecting that kind of honesty lol. But it all worked out. I do my job pretty well most days and when I don't someone lets me know lol.
    

Choices

     So a week or so ago I not only took another step deeper into my forties but I also had to deal with the second anniversary of my Mom's passing. This year it hit me real hard...it still is hitting me hard. 
     I know that is a depressing topic but it is one that everyone will have to deal with and truth be told there is no damn way to make it easy or painless. All we can do is try to remember the good things and let the tears flow if you need to... no shame in it even if you are an old man :)
     I think that everyone reaches a point where they have to choose... something, anything. I try to stay as unchanging as possible. I did a pretty good job of it too. Right up until my Mom passed away. Now I can't keep any kind of footing and it has been two freakin' years. So all I can do is choose to accept the emotional roller coaster and do my best to put on the stoic face the rest of the time. Ultimately, everything in life is some kind of choice. A choice not to choose, a choice to forgive or not , a choice to stay with or leave someone. The one thing we don't really have a choice in is dying but even that creates choices for those we leave. So how are you choosing to live, love, be remembered, or simply to be? Make choices and make some of them count even.

Just a Little More

     "Just a Little More" is something that you may hear but not really hear. You know like when your wife is asking you to take out the trash and you just nod and say "mmm hmmm, dear". I chose it for the title of my post because I was thinking about that phrase and started delving a bit deeper into it. You hear it from coaches, athletes, in the gym, in the ring or cage, and on the field. World records are hardly ever broken by a huge amount, always just a little more gets the gold, the knockout...the victory.
     So what if you applied it to other areas? Miyamoto Musashi (famous ancient samurai, look him up lol) once said "To know one way broadly is to know all ways." So by taking that Just a Little More and applying it to your work or your relationships or simply yourself, what might happen or be created in your life or the lives of those you come into contact with? That's about it for this post. Like Bruce Lee said, "Absorb what is useful disregard what is not and make what is left uniquely your own." Hopefully this didn't waste too much of your time and maybe even inspired a little bit of thinking or looking at situations in a different way.
     I am a wannabe writer (that is a little scared of technology and doesn't write much). I figured if I start doing something on a regular basis that forces me to write then maybe I would get back in that habit and blogging seems like it could be kind of what I am looking for. I gots no clue what to write about or what direction this may head but here goes.
     This is my first blog post ever, and for a luddite like myself that's a kinda sorta big deal. You might even say this is me trying to do "Just a Little More".