be

It is such a relief to sit down. I have recently said this, haven't I? Maybe I should get a clue and realize hey, you seem to like sitting down occasionally. So sit down occasionally. Because I don't. I don't even consider resting unless I have "earned" it. What I really need to realize first and foremost is that one should not feel like they have to earn basic human needs. I want food, water, rest, and genuine connection for all -- including myself.

I do not include myself in many things. I am, whether or not by choice, removed. Blame this on me being an observer, blame this on the trappings of social media, blame this on the weather (because I guess the weather is always to blame for all things). I believe, however, that my current hermit status has to do with me just figurin' life out, you know? Our lives are filled with different stages and phases and we're just going to make ourselves feel anxious and inferior if we fight against this natural flow of life.

So far this post has sounded like a diary entry of an 18-year-old college kid who has just stumbled upon a copy of The Tao Te Ching. I don't know if I am saying anything I haven't said 47,000 times before, but cut me some slack. How about I cut myself some slack? Okay okay, I will. I will cut myself some slack and then I will cut my hair into a conservative bob and shop for some slacks and put them on and put on a nonthreatening smile and step out into the world and step into my new life as a bank teller or gift shop owner.

Wouldn't it be a dream to be a gift shop owner? And by "gift shop owner" I mean Beyonce. It would be a dream to be Beyonce because she is a dream. Beyonce does not run a gift shop, though. She runs the world.

Speaking of the world, isn't the world a sincerely terrifying place? It is, and it's all thanks to humans. Sure, we've created astonishing things, but we've also created the atomic bomb. It's a bit of a blow to the ego to admit this, but I believe the earth would be a better place if all 7.4 billion of us were shipped off to Mars.

But we aren't going to Mars anytime soon. At least not all of us. So while we're still here, how about we try a little harder and try a little longer to make life easier and much, much safer for all sentient beings? I think that might be our one job. And no, that job isn't to be a bank teller or gift shop owner or Queen Bey. Our one important, critical job is to be as radically compassionate as possible. And it's possible. It always has been, it always will be.