You’re not a sneaker

The bridge on which Highway 99 crosses Bidwell Park was completed in 1965. From 2011 to 2014, a third lane was added.

I think just accept your own struggles. I stop under the freeway bridge for a little break. Above me, cars rumble along the road in an asymmetrical rhythm. A bird flies amidst the arrows beneath the bridge, perhaps in pursuit of insects, while the wind blows up dirt from the ground. The cars roll over me. Between us, only concrete and a space of air. While the wave of traffic noise rolls over me, I think by myself, accepting each of them, even the little struggles. They connect you to your life. Your struggles are like roots longing for nutrients and water. If you accept your struggles, perhaps you’ll feel less isolated. A jogger is passing beneath the bridge, singing along to the tune playing in his headphones. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. You don’t need someone else to say that your life is beautiful. Someone else can say if you have a hair in your nose or a spot on your pants, but not if your life is beautiful or not. Just try to care for yourself and others. Normal is just a statistical figure. Do not struggle too much to be normal, to fit in. You don’t need to fit. You’re not a sneaker, right? You’re marvelous.

As is well known, umbrellas protect not only from rain but also from unwanted gazes.


The Laughing Heart
 (Charles Bukowski)

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeIAQWIg9Ks


2 responses to “You’re not a sneaker”

    • Liadain, many warm greetings and heartfelt thanks for the encouraging words. May we be as fit as sneakers, but never become a pair ourselves. Perhaps this is one of those rare certainties in life to which we cling. Let’s take it easy.

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