Good Luck My Friend!

I ran into a friend that I used to work with today, and she is pretty unhappy. There are many reasons for her unhappiness, both personal and professional. She hasn’t really been enjoying her life for quite some time now. It is very sad, but I can understand where she is coming from.

I did what I generally do in these situations, I listen until there is a pause and then I make a joke. Listen some more, and make another joke. It isn’t that I don’t pay attention, because I listen very intently and usually understand where she is coming from in a general way at least. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about how life twists around lives, why good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. Most of the time, the solution seems so simple and obvious.

You can’t tell the distraught person that if they would do this or that, then things would start to fall into place. I know that the times when my life screeched to an abrupt halt, the last thing that I wanted was some smart ass giving me advice. Isn’t it funny how advice is the gift that nobody wants to receive, but everyone likes to give? I try to phrase advice in parables sort of like the great and not so great messiahs do. This way when they are ready to finally listen to common sense they will think it was their idea. It means so much more when someone can solve their own problem.

I don’t know if my friend will ever climb out of the hole that she is in, but I truly hope that she does. I have told her enough stories and given advice cloaked in what “I would do’s”. We can never understand another person’s problems, but if we listen and bite our tongue, they will eventually work it out themselves.

Things usually do work out for the best, or we make the best of a bad situation, take your pick. One thing is for sure, your life will keep marching towards your death and what you do between now and then will determine your happiness. I find it interesting that people who have near death experiences rarely waste the time they have left being concerned with petty grievances or people.

This blog seems a little serious today. I didn’t start out to preach, but I would be willing to bet that I will be back to stupid tomorrow. I do stupid so much better than serious. I did kind of slip in the comparison between myself and messiahs. I don’t have a lot of pull with the big guy, but if you would like I will see what I can do.

When all else fails, pick something at random and pretend that you like doing it. Eventually you just might find that you do like it.

Good luck my friend!