Life has a way of throwing all of us curve balls; or speed bumps, if you will. Whether they appear along our life's path due to someone else's actions, unforeseen circumstances or simply due to our own errors in judgement and common sense; we all have the same choices on how we deal with them.
Several years ago when faced with a personal crisis; one brought on by my own doing, I sought the counsel of a very wise man. Our meeting that day was extremely difficult. No one is eager to admit their failures and face their fears willingly.
Nearly five years later, there is one point that he brought up that I have never forgotten. We all face speed bumps in our lives. This was just one that I was facing in mine. I had a choice. I could either treat it as a stop sign; basically retreat from my life as I knew it, or continue forward; taking with me the knowledge that this was a just a blip in the grand scheme of life and the lessons I learn from it would carry me forward over the bump.
While I am in no way proud of the mistakes made in my past, I am extremely grateful for those who stood by me through the worst of it, lent an ear or simply a shoulder to cry on. I am beholden to that wise man from 5 years ago, who did not openly judge but allowed me to openly judge myself.
This is a reminder to all that as you come upon your own speed bumps in life, there are others out there to help you continue over them. They are your family, your friends, your spiritual adviser and the many service organizations in your community.
When faced with a speed bump, don't look at it as a stop sign. Continue forward over it with the help of those who care. True, the road on the other side may lead you in a direction you didn't foresee; but who's to say that this new path isn't a brighter and more fulfilling one?
Dear Anonymous Internet Troll:
We hope you are having a good day. No, we really mean it.
If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be reminded of our mistakes and shortcomings. Yes, we have all made mistakes in our lives and none of us is perfect. However, most of us have learned from the mistakes we have made and have accepted whatever shortcomings life has dealt us.
It is because of your constant reminders that we have something to strive for. Your persistent gay bashing, fat shaming, and ethnic slurring posts serve as the fuel in our pursuit to better ourselves. For that we thank you.
Our hope is that, in your perfect world, you will never know what it is like to regain the trust of your family, friends and community. We hope that you will never know what it is like to look yourself in the mirror every morning knowing you have disappointed so many just for being who you are. Finally, we hope that you are able to garner the support and friendships that we have up on top of that perch of yours.
Again, thank you and have a good day because we know the rest of us will.
Sincerely,
The rest of the human race
I am a list maker. I make lists to remind myself to make lists. There is always a pen and scrap of paper within reach just so I can jot a reminder down. I experience a unique sense of euphoria each and every time I cross something off one of the lists.
There are multiple active lists in a variety of places; on my desk, in the car and on my person; in one pocket or another. There are the grocery lists, the packing lists, and the to-do lists. There are also the laundry lists; which in my case are the damp clumps of paper pulled from washing machine; you know, those lists shoved in a pocket that were not removed before starting the wash cycle.
Then, of course, there are the virtual lists. The email contacts, the Facebook friend lists categorized accordingly - close friends, family, acquaintances, pages, etc., the Google circles and the Twitter followers. Even my online calendar is set to pop up on my smart phone in the list-like agenda format.
Now that I have gotten this off my chest, I can cross it off my list.
