I have a very good friend that is currently suffering from a case of the low-grade blues.

We aren’t talking about “call the crisis line, I’m over this sh!tty trip” kind if blues, more along the lines of “I’m just weary of trying because it never seems to get us anywhere” kind of mental breakdown. We all go through it (don’t lie!), myself included. I had it a few weeks ago, right before my surgery. Life was closing in on me, we were looking at more going out than we had going in, as well as me facing a scary unknown (to me) procedure. I got through it though. Like Forrest Gump said,

“It happens”
“What, shit?”
“Sometimes.”

Well I”m here to tell you that I don’t have the answer to all your problems! YOU do. Read on to try to understand.

Humanity, across all races and ages have one thing in common that strikes me as amazing. Something that pushes us beyond the day-to-day (or even second-to-second) effort to strive beyond what we consider to be our normal capabilities. Call it hope, drive, determination, whatever. We root for the underdog (a great term, btw – its the little canine on the bottom of the pile getting his ass handed to him…rather fitting little term, isn’t it?) and we feel out hearts soar when they win. Ever see Braveheart? Rudy? Quigley Down Under? How about Red Dawn? Our western society is loaded with stories based around it. In the face of adversity, we overcome the long odds to improve our position to one that seemed unachievable.

Those that TRY tend to live to pass on that drive to their offspring. That’s not a evolution vs creation statement, it’s fact. It is used in selective breeding of plants and animals, as well as historically as a race. “To the winner goes the spoils”, yeah, if by “the spoils” you mean offspring and a future….Each generation becomes stronger because of it.

I know some of you have already faced some AMAZING challenges. I can think of a lot of my regular readers that have done things that make me consider them to be a hero in some way, some are due to efforts in the military, some are due to a personal crisis that was life-changing that never even slowed you down, let alone stop you, one is a young women that got herself out of a very bad relationship, and has since turned her life into a wonderful adventure… I hope you all are squirming in your chairs as you read this, you KNOW I’m talking about you.

And if you think I’m not talking about specifically about you, wrong. You are still around because you’ve faced adversity. Rare is the person with a Silver Spoon in their mouth, with life’s challenges being “I don’t have anything to wear to the next Beverly Hills Party”. And those people are so far away from reality that its sad. Life is freaking HARD. Old Man Murphy can be a bastard, we all know him, some of us far too well.

Life is an adventure. Take it at that. You will never see an Indiana Jones movie about him sitting in the classroom, its boring and uninteresting. Turn your struggle into an adventure, it changes your perspective and may help turn the tides on the problems.

So take the rest of the day to think about this, then tomorrow, wake up, grab the bull by the horns, and accept the challenge. And if you look around you, you’ll find you are not alone. There are LOTS of us that struggle every day, your Brothers in Arms. Know we are there to support you. That’s what I’m doing now. We will get through this together.

I hope this finds you well, not struggling, but currently acting in a supporting role for others. If not, know that there are many in the trenches fighting it with you right now.

Understand that you can’t find your answers in a bottle, a pill, or a book. You have to find it inside yourself. Something inside you will fuel your fire to TRY. Something has to be worth struggling for, only you knows what it is…kids, spouse, family, friends, redwood trees, whatever. You can either suck it up and TRY , or lay down and die. Life goes on, always will. So take up arms to fight the adversity, and know you have many around you that will offer their love and support as you struggle. Take solace in that.

Peace (and love),
db

And for what it’s worth, I’ll be reading this to myself from time to time in the future. Guaranteed.