Hey y’all what’s up!!! Today’s topic is another one I’ve wanted to talk about for a long time. I say that about all my posts, but it hurts my brain that people don’t understand this basic fact. What fact am I talking about, you ask?? The fact that the world will not stop spinning! Not now, not ever!!! The world will continue to go on with or without us, whether we like it or not. I’ve often been accused of being unsympathetic. I’m sorry, but it took me way too long to understand this, and I wasted a good portion of my life because I assumed that the world would stop just for me.
I’m probably making less and less sense as I go on, so let me explain it better. When I was really depressed, I essentially just quit life. I stayed in bed. I didn’t want to go anywhere, do anything, or talk to anyone. I was so absorbed with my own problems that I forgot the world was continuing to spin on without me. The next thing I know, it’s 4 years later, my life is going nowhere, and I have no friends or social life to speak of, and I’ve spent the last year and a half of my life cleaning up that mess.
I’m not trying to be unsympathetic. I understand life is hard; I’m not writing this post so I can sit here and tell you it’s not. I’m sorry you are sad; whatever happened was terrible. I’m not telling you; you must get over it and feel better. I want to say that yes, life sucks sometimes, and shit happens, but the world will keep spinning. You don’t have to like it, and honestly, I’d be a bit worried if anyone felt comforted by that statement. It just means that life continues, so take a second to be sad or upset about whatever life has dumped on you, and then keep on living.
I spent so long focusing on my problems then that I let life go on without me, and I don’t think I will ever not regret it. I always wonder if maybe instead of spending all that time moping, if had had just gotten up and brushed the dirt off and kept on going, what could I have done with my life in those 4 years? Would I have graduated college if I had done my homework and studied instead of crying and sleeping? Would I have more friends if I hadn’t spent my days hiding away from everyone and everything? Would I have been likable if I hadn’t been so negative and miserable to be around? I’ll never know, and there’s no point in wondering about it. I’ve already wasted all that time, and there is no way for me to get it back.
So, call me insensitive, but I stand by what I said; life sucks, but it sucks for all of us. Maybe I’m just not good at feeling sorry for others. I feel bad for what has happened or what they are going through, but I’m not going to be a part of anyone’s pity party. I’m not saying you shouldn’t feel sad. For sure, you should, but don’t live in sadness. Having a pity party is okay, but don’t live in it. Trust me, the longer you live in the negativity, the more it consumes you. I didn’t even realize how miserable I was at the time. Misery had just become my life, and I didn’t even know I had stopped living. At least, I didn’t realize it until it was too late.
Whenever life tries to drag me down again, I take a moment to be sad, then brush off the dirt and get back to it. I told my counselor that if I had to pick a motto for my life, it would be this; “Life sucks. Let’s do this thing!”. I don’t want to miss out on any more of my life. No matter how hard it gets, I want to be able to walk it off, as I always like to say. I’ve never been good at comforting people; I just want to cheer people up. I’m not a good shoulder to cry on. Maybe I am unsympathetic, or I’m still not good with feelings. Regardless, I don’t like seeing people start to act like I did, and maybe that makes me a hypocrite. Still, I don’t want anyone else to live as miserably as I did.
Often when I help teach beginner horseback riding classes, I will say the same thing. “Don’t be me, and __” about the mistakes I’ve made in my 10 years of riding. I’m a perfectionist sometimes, so if I have to mess up, the least I can do is try to help others not make the same mistakes. I guess it makes it feel like less of a mistake if something good can come out of it.
Alright, we are going to stop right there! This is getting too cheesy and feelings-y (and you know how I feel about feelings talk). So, I’m just going to end it right here. Good talk, though; good talk, and as per usual……
Sincerely,
LIBD
The World Keeps Spinning
