Standard String of Thoughts Followed by a Comic
Detroit has to be the worst lit city on the planet earth. Sodium-lights from factories and the airport meet to turn an overcast night sky into a dark orange blanket but this does little to illuminate the streets in any helpful way and streetlights are rare. I keep hearing phantom planes pass above the ginger quilt but I never see them.
I’ve always worried that I’ve hated someone or something for all the wrong reasons but, when I really take the time to brake it down, I’m always satisfied with my logic. Unlike groups, there is really no wrong reason to hate an individual. If you really hate a person, it’s probably as genuine and legit as something can be. Perfection is rare, don’t mess with it.
I had a long talk with my good friend, Brett, coming back from New York. We’ve decided that there are a lot of people out there who are convinced that life is a race to be won. People everywhere scuttling all over each other to win at something that I would argue isn’t really set up to be won in the first place seems absurd. Maybe I’m wrong here, but isn’t just doing whatever the hell it is that you are good at enough? I am always hearing about corporate executives quitting their jobs and making cheese or highly educated people suddenly deciding to become homeless. I have known a great many people who have seemingly made all of the right choices and done all of the right things who have told me, “Matt, I have never been more unhappy. If I could do it all again differently, I would.”
How is one supposed to take that? The benefit of another person’s hindsight is only slightly more helpful than my own. The only thing I can really see is that all of these people are fucking lonely or in a relationship or a job that no longer holds anything for them. It is a long road to nowhere but it seems like we are all progressing nicely.
Just recently my family hit some inexplicably awful times and, while I’ll not go into it, I know that a general dissatisfaction with life had a lot to do with what happened.
The people you care about aren’t always going to make the sort of choices that you are going to like. Some of your lovers will find great and wonderful people and some will end up with people that don’t quite measure up to you, but there isn’t much you can do about it save having never broken up in the first place. As for your friends, some bonds with strengthen and others will break. It’s all very unavoidable. Don’t buy into the lie that “love conquers all.” Sometimes love leaves you a husk of a person and influences you to do creepy and sad things. Other times it inspires great things and pushes you to be a better person, but don’t count on it. I’ve seen a lot more people hack into their exes email accounts and cry on the floor than actually contact them even attempt to persevere in a sane format. The only thing that you really have to go on is you. If two people, friends or lovers, manage to keep their heads out of their asses at roughly the same time, you’ll probably do alright. But do not underestimate the appeal of being up one’s own ass. It’s warm and safe and familiar and, best of all, it keeps you from dealing with the rest of the world. This is why people jump into (or remain in) poor relationships, focus too much on work, watch a lot of TV, overeat, play videogames all day, leave things unresolved, drink all the time and you get the idea I am sure.
Life is a lot like a baby. It’s constantly pissing you off while everyone else around you is talking about how great it is. It may scream and cry at you while, favoring someone else for months, and then suddenly decide that you are the greatest thing in the world. You can’t possibly understand it and, while it holds mysteries and beauty that confound and amaze you, it is impossible to forget how ugly and awful it can be. You hold it and fall in love until it begins to throw a fit and you desperately want someone to take it away from you. Yes, life is exactly like a baby.
I’ve always worried that I’ve hated someone or something for all the wrong reasons but, when I really take the time to brake it down, I’m always satisfied with my logic. Unlike groups, there is really no wrong reason to hate an individual. If you really hate a person, it’s probably as genuine and legit as something can be. Perfection is rare, don’t mess with it.
I had a long talk with my good friend, Brett, coming back from New York. We’ve decided that there are a lot of people out there who are convinced that life is a race to be won. People everywhere scuttling all over each other to win at something that I would argue isn’t really set up to be won in the first place seems absurd. Maybe I’m wrong here, but isn’t just doing whatever the hell it is that you are good at enough? I am always hearing about corporate executives quitting their jobs and making cheese or highly educated people suddenly deciding to become homeless. I have known a great many people who have seemingly made all of the right choices and done all of the right things who have told me, “Matt, I have never been more unhappy. If I could do it all again differently, I would.”
How is one supposed to take that? The benefit of another person’s hindsight is only slightly more helpful than my own. The only thing I can really see is that all of these people are fucking lonely or in a relationship or a job that no longer holds anything for them. It is a long road to nowhere but it seems like we are all progressing nicely.
Just recently my family hit some inexplicably awful times and, while I’ll not go into it, I know that a general dissatisfaction with life had a lot to do with what happened.
The people you care about aren’t always going to make the sort of choices that you are going to like. Some of your lovers will find great and wonderful people and some will end up with people that don’t quite measure up to you, but there isn’t much you can do about it save having never broken up in the first place. As for your friends, some bonds with strengthen and others will break. It’s all very unavoidable. Don’t buy into the lie that “love conquers all.” Sometimes love leaves you a husk of a person and influences you to do creepy and sad things. Other times it inspires great things and pushes you to be a better person, but don’t count on it. I’ve seen a lot more people hack into their exes email accounts and cry on the floor than actually contact them even attempt to persevere in a sane format. The only thing that you really have to go on is you. If two people, friends or lovers, manage to keep their heads out of their asses at roughly the same time, you’ll probably do alright. But do not underestimate the appeal of being up one’s own ass. It’s warm and safe and familiar and, best of all, it keeps you from dealing with the rest of the world. This is why people jump into (or remain in) poor relationships, focus too much on work, watch a lot of TV, overeat, play videogames all day, leave things unresolved, drink all the time and you get the idea I am sure.
Life is a lot like a baby. It’s constantly pissing you off while everyone else around you is talking about how great it is. It may scream and cry at you while, favoring someone else for months, and then suddenly decide that you are the greatest thing in the world. You can’t possibly understand it and, while it holds mysteries and beauty that confound and amaze you, it is impossible to forget how ugly and awful it can be. You hold it and fall in love until it begins to throw a fit and you desperately want someone to take it away from you. Yes, life is exactly like a baby.