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Blue Monday, Sunny Tuesday |
| Posted on Jul 14 2009 |
Blue Monday, Grey Tuesday
Yesterday it was sunny, today it’s raining.
Isn’t that just the way life goes?
Some days you just seem to be in the flow, on top form, nothing can touch you, and then boom, you crash right back down again. A little bit of balance wouldn’t go amiss, would it?
Now I know the theory behind this stuff; that what goes up must come down, and the Buddhist answer would be to maintain an even state, not getting too attached to any feelings, either positive or negative. But try telling that to a hedonist, who believes living life to the full and grasps any opportunity for a new adventure, or some unadulterated fun.
My problem is that I never thought I’d last this long; I thought I would die young. After a close call at 18, I decided that life was short, it may just end prematurely, and there was no point in missing out on anything that life had to offer.
As I have gotten older, I have realised that you can’t maintain this pace; that every now and again, you need to let yourself recover, have some downtime, reset yourself.
That’s what’s happening when it rains. We need the yin and the yang, the ebb and the flow, the light and the dark, it’s what makes up life’s rich tapestry. It can’t be all peachy-creamy 24/7, we’re not always going to be on top form, yet it’s our ability to accept and ride through these rainy days that mean we can make the most of the sun when it shines.
I know what I should be doing, which is following the Buddhist path of non-attachment, and getting neither too excited, or too down, but I have to be honest, I struggle with that.
Dancing into the early hours, the thrill of catching your biggest wave ever, the head rush you get when you touch legs with someone you really fancy – I can’t imagine going through life without those things. Can’t I just agree to put up with the lows if it means getting those highs? Isn’t that what sacrifice is all about? Can I have the best of both worlds – enlightenment and excitement?
Abso-fucking-lutely.
Last changed: Jul 14 2009 at 5:36 PM
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