Chicken Little Was An Optimist

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice. 

Robert Frost

Some times I feel that I could be the Cymbalta poster child.  For whatever reason my mind wanders off in shadows dark and deep.  Every day living seems bleak but then just as quick irreverent humor creeps in and wakes me up.  During the moments, I feel as if even Chicken Little was an optimist.  The sky falling down sounds quite interesting.  Certainly a piece of it falling on my head would give me a financial claim against some insurance titan.  (With my luck some idiot will legislate tort reform on skies falling down in Texas.)

For those of you who don't know me.  The sky is not falling down and even if it is move the heck out of the way.  It truly doesn't matter one way or the other.  Your destiny is to live and enjoy whatever the day brings.  Observe what is going around you; you are part of the universe.  Stop watching from the sidelines and take part in it.  Reconnect with yourself and to it.

Woody Allen, a famous comedic fatalist, said it best in Annie Hall.  In the movie, he depicts himself living underneath an L train in NYC (thus the onset of his neurosis).  His mother notices how despondent he seems and inquires to why.  His reply "the universe is expanding."  For this reason Alvy Singer stops doing his homework.  The despondent Alvy says to his mother, "What's the point?"  His mother snaps back, "What is that your business?"  Even Alvy's shrink gets a piece of the action.  "It won't be expanding for billions of years yet, Alvy. And we've gotta try to enjoy ourselves while we're here!" 

Truthfully, what a waste of time to try to control events.  We are much better off attempting to control how we respond to them.  You still have to breathe, eat, and sleep.  None of it changes.  What makes paradise is simply that you don't live there yet.  A mansion is simply something that you don't have today.  There will always be something better, bigger, and newer.  Enjoy whats in front of you today.  Let go of what you can't control.  Don't let it consume you and simply live.  It's going to take a while before the universe expands but it wont be in your lifetime. La di dah, la di dah, la la......