The contemplation of life

“That’s life. That is what all the people say!” as said by the great Frank Sinatra. But what is life? Have you ever really thought about it?

It’s the moments that take your breath away; the seconds that make you tick; it is the minutes that pass you by; it’s the hours that matter; it’s the days that never end; it’s the weeks you can’t wait for; it’s the months that stood the test of time; and the year that was over before you even knew it.

When you really look at life, how does it make you feel? Are you the person who wakes up daily to the sun shining even if it is raining outside? Do you view the glass as half full instead of half empty? These are the optimists. I really wish I could say I belonged to that group. Sometimes in life, it is hard to be the optimist. It is hard to see the sun and the stars. It is hard to not think that the glass is actually only a gulp away from being empty.

When life makes you the ground and keeps walking all over you, how do you cope? When you are standing on the top of ladder screaming for help and life cracks the rung and you fall to ground, how do you cope?

When you are in the middle of a room and no one sees you, how do you cope?

Life seems unfair. When you are down in the pit of despair, another shovel full of dirt is piled on top your head. Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel, someone closes the door and suddenly you are in blackness.

I hate the way this makes me feel. I hate that my life is like stepping in quicksand, and with each lift of my foot I slowly fall lower and lower. I hate when I raise my hand, looking for someone to grab me up and pull me out, and there is no hand available for me to hold on to.

Some may call this depression; some may even coin this up to pessimistic notions. I laughingly joke that I am besties with Murphy. When people give me that strange look (which I am well aware you have that look on your face right now!), I explain to them the Murphy is Murphy’s Law. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong; which lately has been my theme song in life.

Lately, I have been trying to brainstorm on how to get out of this funk, whether it is a mental funk or just life itself. After all, if fate has it that something bad is going to happen, what really can you do? The only thing you can do is stay positive that something good is coming your way. So the other day, when I was brainstorming, that song by Frank Sinatra came into my head. No other thought could push its way above my singing brain so I just kept repeating, “That’s life!”

In life, it is all about the ups and downs. When you are trying to stay positive, you have to think of that. When life gets you down, you need to stand back up and brush off your knees. You have to get back into that race. If that fails, start singing the song by Frank Sinatra. I find music from that era makes it nearly impossible to frown, even if it isn’t 100 percent positive!

I know that it seems a little unusual, but when life brings you down, you have to think positively. It is the only thing that will and can make things better. It seems like it is almost impossible to do, but it is something you have to force upon yourself. Take it from someone who is struggling with the exact same problem. It is difficult to lift your head up and smile. But, while your reading this right now… take a second… look up… and grin. Grin like you never have grinned before. Who cares who is around you. Just grin. Think of something great, something wonderful and grin. I just did.

Now on this journey of life, there will be bad times and there will be good times. Together we can smile at the downs. Here is to life and the journey it brings us on. And if you ever need that hand to pull you up, I only hope that I am so fortunate to lend you that hand!