Monday, May 12, 2008

If it wasn't this, it'd be something else.

Brace yourselves - there MIGHT be a serious tone to our lil blogosphere this evening. Uh oh. The day has come.

I read a story today about the ways people deal with struggle - and what a fitting moment to read it. A wise old woman (isn't there always a wise old woman?) told the token naive young girl to boil three pots of water, and to put carrots into one, an egg into another, and coffee in the third. After all cooking had commenced, they were left with soggy soft carrots, a hard-boiled egg, and delicious coffee. The carrots appeared strong in the beginning, but when faced with the hot water, softened and couldn't take the heat. The fragile egg was timid at first, and after being boiled, became hardened inside. The coffee, however, when faced with the strongest adversity and proposed damage, changed for the better because of it.

We all deal with struggles differently, and none of us is better or worse because of it. But how great it would be to use hard times as a fuel for a bolder flavor and more fierce personality. Instead of becoming hard and cold to the outside world because of the things we've faced, it might actually be possible to - dare I say it - grow because of them.

It seems that it's often easier to thrive on being angry at people we care most about purely because we'd rather do that than actually figure out what the fuck is wrong with ourselves. There comes a point when bitching about what everyone else is doing to make YOU feel bad is merely a means of filling time and conversation, and nothing productive at all. Yes we all hurt each other, and yes in the moment, we think we can never recover. But once the steam blows over, if it's something worth it, you're left with a stronger brew than you had in the beginning. (Forgive the pun. I couldn't help myself, my fingers typed it against my will.)

Relationships of all kinds can be such beautiful disasters - that effin' Kelly Clarkson really knows what she's talking about. We fall in love with our friends and lovers, seeing something in them that reminds us of ourselves. And the moment certain barriers are broken, certain colors are shown that we don't want to see, we'd rather clam up at the struggle than let it envelope us and teach us something.

How CREEPY is this??

Ladies and gents, all I've loved, liked, laughed with and fought with, try your best to be rich, bold and hearty coffee. You might actually learn something, you lazy assholes.

'Who can say if we've been changed for the better, but because I knew you, I have been changed for good.'

Peace out. A town.