Life as a Philosophical Seussism

Dr. Seuss was a Master Philosopher.  I firmly believe this.  All you have to do is read even slightly between the lines of his, on the surface, nonsensical writing style, or take a look at any of his many famous quotes, and the truth is absolutely there.

Consider the quote, "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."  While I feel like I need to write this as a reminder at the top of every physics exam page, it is also quite true for most of life.  We overthink, and stress about, and complicate so much of our daily occurrences. If we were to, instead, take a deep breath, step back, and truly look at the entire picture, then focus on the solution, might not the best answer be the simplist one possible?

What about the phrase from One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish? "From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!"  No.  Joke.  From children, to pets, to random humans in the grocery or on the street, to the silly stupid jokes shared with those closest to you, there is almost always something out there to laugh at .... including yourself!

Another, would be from The Lorax, "It's not about what it is, it's about what it can become."  This one I believe to be true for both good and bad, positive and negative, truths and lies, and everything in-between.  Think about it.  All things are what they are, and are exactly what they are in the way that one sees, interprets, and applies them.  They begin as they exactly are, and become whatever we turn them into.  Ponder that one.

The quote that I deep down believe was a political statement (well hidden) is from The Cat In The Hat.  "And this mess is so big, and so deep and so tall, we cannot pick it up, there is no way at all!"  That one, politically, speaks for itself (in my opinion).

My personal favorite, that I tend to revert to like a mantra whenever I'm stressed out or hurt by other people in life is a quote that's not from one of his books.  It goes like this, "I've heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead, some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat, I'm all ready, you see.  Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"  Best.  Empowering.  Quote.  Ever.

There are literally THOUSANDS of quotes and passages from Dr. Suess's books and lifetime that would apply to my life, your life, and the life of everyone and everything on this planet in almost any situation or scenario.  Here is a link if you want to look at more of them: http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/61105.Dr_Seuss

Until next time, try to remember as you go forward in your day the immortal, philosophical words "So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)"


~ The Girl In The LIttle Black Dress (with assistance from Dr. Seuss)

Blips On The Radar

I began writing a vent blog last night out of sheer frustration ... threw it out this morning.  The benefits from a solid night's sleep are amazing.  While the situation in question is still one of immense frustration and annoyance, looking at it through well rested eyes after a cup of great coffee allows me to put it in perspective.  Life's frustrations are simply blips on the radar.  To look at the big picture ... all the other good, positive things that are happening and I'm working on accomplishing, all of those in both the US and worldwide with major trauma and issues so infinitely greater than my own, well, those blips are just blips.  They're there, they're annoying, they can be blinding, and eventually they fade away into oblivion.  The only thing I can do is to focus on what's positive and what I can actually work toward achieving.  I am only responsible for my own actions and reactions ... how others choose to act and react is their own responsibility.  Onward and forward .. today is a fresh start for a new day!

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Seussical Outlooks

I love Dr. Seuss.  I realize that his rollicking rhymes are not for everyone over the age of 10, but I happen to be one of those overgrown kids that continues to find humor and enlightenment in his work.  There's so much real life knowledge & thoughtfulness that's hidden behind the facade of those children's rhymes.  Life is full of complicated questions, that we, as adults, tend to make even more complicated if only by our past precedents throughout life (colloquially known as "baggage").  Most things do not have to be as complicated as we make them, yet we continue to overthink and apply every school of thought imaginable in an effort to make "informed decisions".  It has begun to be more and more clear to me personally, that decisions are much better made without a perusal through every possible option or past precedent imaginable.  What if we all applied a Dr. Seuss mentality to our decisions for just one day?  Think about it ....

"Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened" - outlooks and reactions to life and its constant situational craziness would be so much more positive ...

"A person's a person, no matter how small" - no matter how small, or what gender, or what color, or what belief system, talk about erasing incredible amounts of "human-phobias" of all forms .....

"From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere" - that they are, and if we look at them and appreciate the absurdity of them, we all might be a bit more tolerant and a lot less angry ...

"He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man" - all forms of recovery, from grief and loss to addictions to disorders of any and every kind benefit from this one, I personally should remind myself of it daily, and subjecting ourselves to being any less than human simply isn't fair .....

"Today I shall behave as if this is the day I will be remembered" - if this is the day I will be remembered by, then I sure want it to be a day where I did as many positive things as possible .....

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind, some come from ahead some come from behind, but I've bought a big bat I'm all ready you see, now my troubles are going to have troubles with me" - I'd like to think of the "big bat" as theoretical, not violent actual, but you get the picture, letting the troubles take over, instead of the alternative, leads life down a much less positive, sadder road than what it could be if that "big bat" gets used on them ...

... AND FINALLY ...

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple" - think of how much easier life would be if we focused on the simplicity of the answers instead of the complications of the questions!  Take it back to the "baggage" I referenced at the beginning of this post.  Discontinuation of utilizing said "baggage" as our main focus would make life so much simpler, so much easier, so much happier and forward thinking!  Not trying to be Pollyanna, but seriously. 
I hope that everyone reading this goes forward in their day with a little brighter outlook and a bit more "Seussical" mindset! :)


~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Facets of Complication

Complicated.  The word encompasses so many areas of life.  From description of WHO we individually are, to HOW we individually act and react, to circumstances in general.  Looking inside yourself, however, is the most complicated thing of all.  Why do I do the things that I do?  Why do I make the decisions that I make?  Why do I react the way that I react?  Why do I act the way that I act?  Talk about complicated ...... the most complicated of all, however, seems to be the understanding and melding of different ideologies, actions, reactions, and ways of dealing with situations in a relationship.  Take two humans who share a romantic passionate connection, then attempt to achieve understanding from each to the other of how that person thinks, acts and reacts in any given situation, and have each accept the differences without getting their own feelings hurt in some way .... equals in complicated WORK from both parties.

Why are relationships so much work?

In truth, we can think that we are making every effort to be upfront, honest, flexible and understanding in any relationship, but if the other party communicates and/or thinks in a different way, they may not feel that we are putting forth any effort at all.  The delicate balance between what we think and feel we're putting forth regarding effort vs. what someone else thinks or feels we or they are putting forth, vs. the overarching looking at the equation from the outside .... well, things are never quite what they seem in our own heads.  While relationships of all types do require effort, I'm learning that the most important part of that is that all parties put in the effort and that it is recognized by all parties involved.  If it's not recognized that the effort is being made on all fronts ... well, let's just say that it's a recipe for hurt feelings and relationship disaster on every front.

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Positive Notes from the Rollercoaster

Sometimes things turn out better than they would originally seem.  Sometimes, even when you feel like the entire world is a sad, lost cause & that the best parts of your life are railing against you, occasionally, things turn themselves around via efforts that you didn't realize were noticed, and become absolutely fabulous.

I'm not going to go into specifics, but let's just say that the past 48 hours have been quite the rollercoaster ride.  But just like a rollercoaster, with drops that take your heart and breath away, paired with climbs to heights that are breathtakingly beautiful, eventually the ride slows down so you can catch your breath, look at the person in the seat beside you, & achieve the realization that the calmness after the adrenaline rush is an unequivocally beautiful thing.  Right now, I'm sitting beside a beautiful fire by candlelight, after an almost perfect day of friends, family, children, happy wishes and notes from so many I care about, and magical moments with someone incredibly important and dear to me.  Life may not be easy, or perfect every moment, but its ups and downs that sometimes resemble that death defying rollercoaster, do make the moments that are happy and wonderful and fulfilling so much more beyond words gratifingly phenomenal.  Even the tearful moments create a deep appreciation for the happy possibilities when they occur. 
Sometimes things turn out better than they would originally seem.  I don't think I would change one thing.  :)

Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.

Happy Birthday to Me! :)
~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Politics .. Are They? Or Aren't They?

Politics are everywhere ... even if you don't think they're involved,  rest assured,  in some form they are.  From managing how we respond to the mundane daily nonsense with the hierarchy of the office, to schools, to church groups, even to some conversations with friends, politics in some form come into play.  Think about it.  When is the last time any of us stopped short of saying what we originally wanted to say because we were in the middle of the office cubicles where the boss / a manager / HR / the gossipy co-worker might overhear?  Or because we were in that same situation at a party or in a restaurant or at a group gathering where the gossipy acquaintance or the wrong set of ears might hear it, misunderstand, and tell a dear friend and twist the meaning?  What about when we get news or information from a friend that, in their defense, is only attempting to be a good friend by giving us said information, but we knee jerk react with our response and afterwards wish we'd been more "politically correct" and thought through to "edit" our response?  What about the times we overhear a bit of information out of context and make a snide remark to ourselves without regard for who's in hearing distance, or, repeat what we heard while drawing our own conclusions?  In most areas, we edit those responses, those thoughts, those words emitting from our beings in an effort to fit in, or to avoid angering or offending those in our midst, or, wish we could take back or alter how or what we said at the time.  In the latter, hindsight becomes 20/20.

Ergo, politics are everywhere.  From the basic nepotism that gets someone a job because they "know" the right people to get them in the door for the coveted interview, to the aforementioned examples.  None of us appreciate it, many of us downright dislike it, the majority of us participate in it.  Most of the examples would make a superb sequel to the book Everything I Need To Know, I Learned In Kindergarten, entitiled Everything I Need To Know, I Learned In High School. 

Personally, it makes me wonder why we're surprised that Congress can't get anything completely accomplished without a bunch of subterfuge!  Seriously, we've got a bunch of people in office that have made what's supposed to be a position that's representative of their area neighbors' wants and needs, a position that's reprsentative of the highest bidder in their area.  You combine that with any President, who, we would hope goes into vying for the job with the nation's best interests at heart, but inevitably ends up playing The Political Game with everybody and their brother just to get a 24 pack of toilet paper onto the operating budget .... well, you get the picture.

That's not saying that many people from every walk of life don't actively attempt to greet every day with a positive output.  There are those who strive to make the world around them a better place on a daily basis.  To treat others how they would wish to be treated themselves.  Even these enlightened individuals engage in some form of politics on some level at some point.

What if the world were without all the politics?  What if, every single waking moment of every single day was without judgement, without subterfuge, without an ultimate agenda?  What if everytime everyone opened their mouths it was completely and totally honest without regard for repercussions?  That'd be a heck of a different world ....

Hmmmmmm .............

Yeah, right.  Like that's gonna happen!  Human nature is, by nature, human nature after all, and a Pollyanna view of society only gets you hurt in the end unless the person you're dealing with is the Dahli Lama or Mother Teresa.  Even Elle Woods had an agenda at heart.  I guess the question then becomes, "Do the ENDS justify the MEANS"?  Things to think about ... in every situation.

~The Girl In The Little Black Dress