30 December 2011

Oh, Life

Want to know what I have discovered? You never know what's REALLY going on in people's lives. How quick we are to judge based on what we see and how wrong we usually are. Behind beautiful pictures, positive status updates and smarmy blog posts, everyone is facing their inner demons. We don't know what they are. We can't say that they are harder or easier than our own; each person at some point will be pushed to their very breaking point. This is life, I suppose.

I follow a somewhat (ok...extremely) irreverent blogger (with a pretty dirty mouth) named The Bloggess. (Don't link to her if you aren't prepared to see rude language). Why do I follow her? Beside the fact that I think she is a brilliant and witty writer, I have come to love her optimistic pessimism. Her latest post really hit home for me. Here is a sample of it:


"I see a girl intent on enjoying the sun while it still shines, smiling vehemently, indignantly, and entirely celebrating a shining perfect moment even as alligators swim underneath. Victor said she seemed oblivious, but she’s not. She knows the alligator is there.

The alligators are always there.

They remind her to smile and enjoy those perfect moments whenever they arise, because life without fear is not a life fully appreciated. She smiles – not because she’s unaware of the alligators – but because she’s aware of them and because she knows how wonderful it feels when they release their jaws from your ankles."




May the Gods bless us all to keep balanced, to enjoy the sun, to acknowledge the alligators in our life, but smile anyway. And may we understand that everyone is doing the exact same balancing act we are...in their own way with their own alligators.

3 comments:

Katie C. said...

I feel like I need that print in my office!

7aura7 said...

So very true. I feel like I have to remind myself of this often.

Who am I to judge another
When I walk imperfectly?
In the quiet heart is hidden
Sorrow that the eye can't see.
Who am I to judge another?
Lord, I would follow thee.

Not my favorite hymn, but that right there is a good message to remember. Your post also reminded me of that message in the ensign this month about attitude. Too often, my attitude stinks.

Karri Warren said...

How completely true this post is. I have been so selfish lately thinking that I am the only one who understands my struggles. However, regardless of whether or not any other person understands my struggles, they understand their own struggles. And it is no easier for them than it is for me to overcome those struggles.