ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

I'm always fascinated at how much we end up despising one another, as well as ourselves, simply because somewhere in that tortured mind of ours simplicity and logic seem to have gone to the pub indefinitely. Here is my humble opinion on things we need to stop doing to ourselves. Easier said than done but then again so is everything else in life, except eating chocolate, drinking fine wine and sleeping with arousing people. Anyways, I'm in a generous mood so away we go...

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people.
Why do we surround ourselves with people we don't even like? Do their opinions really matter? We tend to do this because they're attractive, they have money or you need them now or somewhere in the future. Remember that all the people we have admired throughout history couldn't have cared less what others thought of them. Winston Churchill had it right when he said, "You have enemies ? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life." The right people will want to see you succeed and prosper as a person. They won't drain you like a dishrag leaving you void of anything useful at the end of the day, except zoning out in front of reality shows. If you have the slightest doubt about someone...move on and stop wasting your time. If they're overlooking your worth then do yourself a favor and run for the hills.

2. Stop trying to buy happiness.
Aaaah, an old classic that always seems to pop up since we started deteriorating as a species, probably when power and money became daily staples. There's no mystery to this golden oldie and it'll probably never go out of style, unless aliens take over and turn us into nutcrackers. You can't go chasing happiness...this isn't a fox hunt. It's plain and simple: find someone to love, something to hope for and something to do, preferably something you don't loathe. You won't find it in a Beverly Hills mansion, or at a bar surrounded by supermodels or in a treasure chest. No matter what they're force feeding us you cannot buy happiness. Happiness is stumbled upon not chased.

3.Stop trying to be everything to everyone.
We can't please the entire world. We never will. First, we have to love ourselves, which is something some never accomplish because their vision is clouded by false hopes and dreams. Accept who you are and don't apologize for who you're not. You're not trying to sell yourself to the masses. You're not a shampoo or a mattress. Start acting like you are different and bathe in what makes you unique until your fingers get all pruny. But being something to someone, whether it's a lover, a friend or family, is a wondrous feat. If one person thinks you're as glorious as the Sistine Chapel then screw the lot of them because there's one you, one Sistine Chapel and one Michelangelo...catch my drift?

It's rainy and cold here today and I'm not trying to appeal to your intellect or wit. I'm just trying to be a friend to someone, somewhere, somehow. Don't take life for granted and every once in a while just be yourself. Forget your flaws, forget society, forget money, forget pain. Tell someone you love them, crave the beautiful and as I always say..."feed your head."
Till next time...

DON'T LET THEM SLIP AWAY

Memories are important, well the good ones at least. I have a favorite one as I'm sure you all do. I'll let you in on it and then I'd like you to tell me yours.
I was born in Tunisia. For those of you who don't know it's the Northern most country in Africa next to Morocco. Every summer I'd go there and stay at my grandparents' house on the beach. One morning, I woke up as the sun began to rise. The sunrise there is pretty special. The sky is purple and orange and the sun's rays sparkle on the water like diamonds. I stood on the balcony and watched as a fisherman rowed his little wooden boat out to sea. The image reminded me of a Monet painting.
Later that day, I watched my grandmother dressed in a long skirt and heels have her afternoon drink. Although she was in her seventies she still had a glass of Johnny Walker in one hand and cigarette in the other. She had big Jackie O sunglasses on and makeup fit for a movie close up. She was a dramatic woman and it felt like she was starring in her own film at all times. She was looking out at the sea and when I called her name she turned abruptly. She was crying. I'll never know why. Maybe she was remembering her daughter that had died 15 years ago or because she'd never made it as an actress. I wish I could have take a picture. It was surreal. Later on, I was playing with the cats that inhabited the big garden. My grandfather was sick, we'd find out later that he had cancer. I guess I was making too much noise because all of a sudden I heard a terrifying howl come from his room. I had woken up the beast within and he was not pleased. He came out with the ferociousness of a lion and started swinging his cane in the air as obscenities emerged from his cries. My mother was there along with my cousin and brothers and we all hid in the fig tress too frightened to climb down. We were laughing so hard our sides hurt because the whole situation was comical. It felt like a Marx brothers movie. My grandmother who was on her fourth or fifth drink slammed her bedroom door and I could hear her yelling from within.
I don't know why but this memory is dear to my heart. My grandparents are dead today and the house on the beach has been sold. I still dream of it sometimes. I still dream of the times when we were all a family, a dysfunctional one but still a family. I long for those days of heavenly sunrises and hilarious outbursts due to too much whiskey or out of control egos. Maybe one day I will see that house on the beach again...
Till next time.