Posted by:
elderolddog
(
)
Date: August 13, 2021 05:25PM
I'm of the belief that if there is a ghawd, he/she/barm(a very indeterminate pronoun I invented for this post), is not watching me 24/7 on some heavenly monitor. In other words, I don't believe in a ghawd who is judging me. How is having to judge people any kind of reward for becoming a ghawd?
So if there's no ghawd judging me, why would I worry about people judging me, unless it's people to whom I give that privilege, such as employers, clients, fellow contestants in the erotic arts, etc.
Now, if you weigh 144 pounds, why would you sign up to fight someone who knew all you knew about fighting, and maybe more, and who weighed in at 220 pounds? Rationality assumes you would not volunteer for such a contest. In other words, go easy on yourself!
A person's current station in life is usually in flux; there are ups and downs... along with Circle Left, Allemande Right, Do Si Do, Promenade your partner, Swing, Roll Away To A Half Sashay, etc., ... It can get complicated!!
But there are no self-appointed judges and you should not fall prey to the fiction that what people think of you means something, other than those with money that they'll give you for following agreed-upon rules.
Did you ever take a fall in public and think to yourself, "wow, everyone must think I'm a jerk!" Well, the majority didn't think that. And of those who did think, "What a boob!" (a thought that constantly cheers me up!), they did not shift the event from short-term memory to long-term memory, meaning that like 78.4% of all the memories you thought you'd made, it's been forgotten.
My opinion is that life is what happens between trips to the bathroom. And there is no 'judging'. For most of us, "circumstances" form the constraints under which we labor/live. You (along with most of us here) were not 'to the manor born'. Like me, and especially like Gladys Lot, You probably have no special or cute talents.
The thing that the vast majority of humans do well is to be complacent. All you have to do to lift yourself out of 'The Herd of Complacendy' is find something you can do better each time you try to do it, and to keep on trying to do it...even if it's just smiling at another person who didn't expect it.
Don't say, "I'm going to change, starting right now, and in five years I'll get the highest score ever on the state Bar Exam!!" And don't start bragging about what your goal is. Keep it to yourself, because we mostly fail to meet our own expectations. Even if you never 'progress' (whatever the hell that means), I think it counts as a success when you fall six times, but get up seven times.
Finally, I've never been to a funeral where it was talked about publicly what a failure the dear departed was in life. Even if all they can say at my funeral is, "Wow, he threw a mean boche ball!", I'll lay there in the dirt, moldering, but smiling.
"Living" is either constantly on your mind, like a stone in your shoe, or you never give it a second thought, like a Kardashian in her $5,000 shoes... I believe the secret to enjoying who you are is to want to be better but to be able to enjoy where you are currently. And if you aren't enjoying where you are currently, find a simple, legal way to chip away at the faux marble block(s) that is/are in your way. "Life" isn't the goal, it's the process.
I say these things in Judic West's name, yea, even he who inspired Napolean to remain on St. Helena Island, even though he, Napolean, was still a vibrant 51-year-old would be dictator!