Danger Signs

Imagine a road that runs beside a canyon. There is a steep cliff to your right. Signs at the side of the road warn of the perilous cliff, but you hate those signs because they remind you of the danger, and you feel scared. To make yourself feel better, obviously the answer is not to remove the signs, but instead modify your driving, and thank your fear for reminding you to drive carefully.

Grasping that Ring and Enjoying Every Sandwich

Reminders of mortality: a beloved and lovely aunt died, a close relative and a friend each received unsettling health news, and a friend's friend died in a traffic accident.

These events can be upsetting and most of us try to avoid them, but they are golden. We need to remember that we are not here on earth forever, that life is a ride on a ferris wheel; we see some lovely sights and enjoy the sensations, but eventually the ride stops. For some of us the ride stops much sooner than we expect. So enjoy the view.

Go for the gold. Grab the brass ring. Make life your big adventure. As Warren Zevon said, enjoy every sandwich.

Warren did an interview on The Late Show with David Letterman following Zevon's having been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Letterman asked Zevon if there was anything he understood now, facing his own mortality, that he didn't before. Zevon replied, "Just how much you're supposed to enjoy every sandwich." 

Warren's is a wonderful metaphor because a sandwich is a simple, but that’s what most of our life is, simple everyday experiences. If you can enjoy those–aware of the beauty of simplicity–you will have a full life.

Let today be the day you start being happy. Let today be the day you act out your higher self. Let today be the day you start living.

Truth

Getting to our own truth is important. We know our truths, but lose them through programming and habit.

The programming starts the minute you make contact with other humans, continues through childhood and is established by adulthood. Eventually we give up or forget our truths. As we age, many of us experience times of rebellion, usually in our teenage and middle age years.

Conflict arises when our truth–that which you know in your soul, mind and gut to be true–is contradicted by those with power over us.

The wise parent of a teenager understands that the child needs to find their own truth. If this support is not given and the child does not venture to clarify or rediscover his or her own truth, their conflict can manifest in myriad ways such as addiction, abuse, depression or illness.

Your own truth is not something others can tell you. We can share our experiences, and talk about what worked and didn’t, but we can’t impose a truth on someone.

Everyone’s truth is true for them, but may be untrue or only partially true for someone else. Listening to and trusting your gut is the only skill you need: anything that rings true or feels like something you knew but had forgotten is a truth for you. It should make you happy and at peace. (Even sadness makes me happy because it’s just another face of love.) Anything that makes you feel bad, anxious or unworthy is not a truth for you.

Be open to acquiring or rediscovering truths. Test them out, reject those that don't fit. You'll develop a clear knowledge of your own personal operating instructions.