Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

[XavierSteele]

This is going to be a bit more somber on my part, and I will apologize in advance for that. I don't take the time and unload any problems on anyone, those are reserved for here really. So for the first time in awhile I want to be real, something that I am slowly becoming well know for. You know it has taken me 41 years to get to this spot in life. There is not one thing that I regret in this life other than there is never enough time. That is what makes me do this, instead of the one that I previously said I would do.

Where Is The Fire?

I think that people don't take enough time in this life to see all the things that they miss and the things that we take for granted will be here when we are ready to deal with them. I am talking about everything from the water that runs from our taps, to the people that we claim to hold dear. Me, well I quit thinking hard about this a very long time ago. I would say that I quit thinking too hard on that when life showed me how fragile it is.

I guess that with the anniversary of my father's death coming it puts things that I personally take for granted into a perspective. It also allows me to see the connections in things that i had previously missed. I will say that last year I am still grateful for the fact that I was a drinker, lol. You may think I am joking, but there is no jest in these eyes. I will though get to see how close to the mark I was when I started my unconventional therapy.

We don't think about this stuff because to us it doesn't mean anything until it actually means something. We walk through our lives on daily basis never once taking into account what goes on in someone else's life. I'm guilty of it just as much as you are and the sad truth is almost everybody is guilty of this. have you ever stopped to think about the persons or persons that you pass in a day's time? whether you have a conversation with drawn-out hours or interactions that lasted only 5 minutes how did you actually react?

What's In A Name?

It reminds me of a story I have. It was about a guy I know or should say knew. He was not much of the type that you would think on after you had met him. Nor was he someone that you wanted to meet at all had you just a glance at him. He was a homeless man, and as such the world walked directly around him, never really giving him much of a passing thought. The way we are so won't to do most days.

As I said, I too am guilty of the same things, although to the homeless I can't say that is as true. This is mostly in part because I have been on the same side as my friend that I am talking of. By the way, his name is Doc. At least that is what he told me. The truth is at first I really didn't care what it was, because I had my own life to live.

Now as with anywhere you live, if you spend enough time in one spot you get to know a good deal about the people that you are around. Sometimes you call them the neighbors. Sometimes you will even call them by name, and then there are those that you call some pretty nasty names both to their face as well as behind it. Doc really wasn't any of those, but he became a friend through it all.

Beyond The Looking Glass

He is the reason I learned the lesson that you can never judge someone on a first impression, because after some time our judgement isn't what it used to be. In time I came to learn a couple interesting facts that the rest of the world never did, that is unless you actually talked to Doc.

Doc was a retired school teacher, he had retired several years back when I had met him. Of all the things in the world that he could have taught, it was one of my personal passions. No not porn, or computers, sometimes your minds need scrubbed. He had taught music. And he apparently taught well according to him. He was also an Army Veteran with a wounded leg. He really could walk quite well, but as anyone with a leg injury knows, that is never a guarantee. So he did what many my age would do, he kept on moving forward. Help was not in his cards, and by the time I met him I don't believe he would have taken it if it had been.

You see that's Legacy we leave in the world though we see it as something we can accomplish and never give a thought to the part where we should help someone else who has fallen get back up. Truthfully, I can't even say that it is all today's societies fault. But I will. It's time that people face up to the truth of life. Sometimes there is no sugar coating it and really it's time we stopped it.

Coming of Age

I see today's kids growing up and realizing that mom and dad didn't tell them the truth. They are beginning to see the world for what it is. Please, pardon me for being jaded here, but the world is what it is. You can't sit in your seat and see anything different than I do. I am not saying the world is terrible, I am saying it's rushed. In rushing you are bound to get all sort of different things, whether they are good or bad. It is the way it is, but not the way it has to be.

Look, not everything has to be a rush to the end. Not everything needs to be a pissing contest. Most definitely, not everything has to be keeping up with the Jones family. I challenge you to do this. The next time that things are rushed, stop. Who's going to make you go again? You and only you. I think that we need to take the time to relax, don't do what I do and push so hard that hell wouldn't stand in front of me. You need to take the time and realize that the smallest action can produce HUGE results.

On that note I want you to remember that the next time you see someone struggling. You don't have be be a sugar daddy or mamma to help. Sometimes the only thing you need to do is smile and let them know you see them. When I say that I mean REALLY see them for WHO they are and not WHAT they are. Maybe if we all took the 30 seconds it takes to say hi rather than all the work it takes not to. We may be able to turn the world on it's ears and in the process grow a little for it.