Everybody Hurts Sometimes

Sometimes it takes longer to write about some things than others. Such is the case with hurt and the scars that it leaves on your soul. REM originally cut the track that fits this Hub. But I prefer the Joe Cocker version for the depth of the man's soul.

We all have our demons and personal experiences that have cut to the quick. We have all been accused, used and spit out more than once. I know in the long run it has made me a stronger person though, during those times, the torment seemed unbearable. It wasn't the torment of another but the torment of the realization that I was as responsible as the person I was having to experience that hurt with.

I've interspersed three songs for your listening pleasure. Some may want to linger and read this more than once. Others just read slowly :)

I wonder about people sometimes. We all have experienced, at one time or another, our personal version of hell on earth. If you haven't then you haven't been living. I recently had someone I cared about tell me, "You don't know the hell I have been through." Really? I thought to myself, and actually had to comment back to that, "Do you think you have a corner on the 'hell market?" I wasn't asking that cruelly but realistically. I can probably call your hell and raise you a great deal of misery. It's one of those things where a person might be better off not to feel sorry for themselves.

As the song itself says, "If you think you've had enough then hang on." You probably haven't. experienced it all yet if you think about it. The test of myself is how I recover from those things that I am dealt in life. That's the true test of a person. What did you learn and then what did you do about it and with it? This is one of those subjects that when your soul starts in on the writing there is no telling where the journey will lead.

There is another side of me and it's called "Me." I will let you see that person if I think you will be gentle with that person. No one likes to be roughed up or blamed for what happened to you in the past if they had nothing to do with it,. Most of the time we probably weren't even observers. It is what it is and is often best left alone. Is it in the here and now?

Do you care enough to let someone know when they might be about to make an error in life or place themselves, or you, in harms way? An even better question might be are you prepared to take the resulting flack when you tell someone you think is a friend something they don't really want to hear because it doesn't fit their model of reality? Or deflect it as if it doesn't fit them even though it does? Might it sometimes be better to say, ""I love you for who you are and not who I want you to be?"

There is fair weather love and most of us know that. It's there for your convenience when the sky is blue and everything is most copacetic. But going back to the theme song - everybody hurts. Will you be there when that occurs? It's easier to run away now, isn't it?

Yes my friend stepping into the unknown can be a bit unnerving.. But it can prove to also be exhilarating and rewarding if you have the faith that there are those around you to catch you if you fall. Let those who really care about you become your net. While at the same time recognizing who those people are.

Lord of mercy don't see things differently than a person who has crept up on you sideways and entered your life. Having a disagreement with such a person makes it seem like you killed the Pope on an off day. Guess what? People have disagreements everyday and how you handle them shouldn't result in a mountain appearing where there was previously a mole hill on the horizon. What makes me scratch my head is when the side slinger makes it so obvious that it is intentional. That just makes it worse.

What can be even more exasperating is when that particular person says he/she is your "friend." so they take you to the woodshed and after the raking you over the coals they think that might be possible? Really? There are people who collect "friends" and the reality of the situation is that they, in most cases, are collecting acquaintances. Your true friends don't come at you sideways because they have no need to do so. They will tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear. Those people are rare and you need to embrace them and not push them away.

The saying above is what Joe is singing about. No, you're not alone. When you think you've had too much of this life, please hang on. We all do cry. Some more openly than others but we all do it in our own way. At other times it is best to sit, look the other person in the eyes and tell them what they need to hear. If they listen then it just might make a difference.

I can be as hard as woodpecker lips. I know this. But at all times I try to be as fair as I can possibly be. And you? The bottom line is that at those times you know that I have your back and you are supposed to have mine. If you think this is about you then search your soul as to why.

So now I let my soul rest for a spell. Just something I needed to say to the world. Maybe to you too? Enjoy the closing song. You see, "Everybody hurts and none of us have a corner on that market."

I can only ask that you share this as there are many who might need to know this about themselves and others. Peace be with you...

Some might find it hard to comment but maybe you should.

As Always,

The Frog Prince