Some people (doctors, they call themselves) might call me bipolar.
I prefer to think of it like a sport – “x-treme emoting”.
In a way, though, the chaotic confusion that comes with traversing one end of the feel spectrum to the next, brings with it a wealth of ways in which we can be motivated. I like happy, serene, blissful, peaceful things in one moment. Then, in the next, I’m making penis jokes just to get a laugh out of my sister and funerary zings to make my dad chuckle.
But because my thoughts can often seem like they’re attached via string to some cruel Gepetto-like force, I do my best to use my jerky inner-workings to my advantage. If I’m feeling alright, tranquil infographics will inspire me to channel that into creativity. If I’m feeling sad inside, my brain will settle for no less than disturbing comedy.
But in the end – are the messages all so different?
I wondered this as I woke up one morning with a quote bouncing in my brain. Then I realized – that’s not a quote! That’s two quotes my think-ball came up with randomly.
And that happened because this:
Is pretty much the same as this:
Actually, the original quote is “Follow your bliss” (Joseph Campbell, I believe?)
Which is why, I suppose, the phrase “Follow your bliss – off a cliff” was the Ash-amalgamation I gleaned from it.
For people who get sad enough to forget we might as well be happy ‘cause we’re all gonna die anyway – Bukowski’s line is a subtle reminder of that. The idea is: you’ve got an expiration date regardless – why spoil before it comes? (Oh… damn, that’s good. I should use that in an article or something…)
Another same-wavelength quote duo has to do with self expression:
Both this…
And this…
… ask us to speak clearly and confidently and without soft-talk.
One’s the type of inspo seen on the tab of a yogi tea-bag. The other’s advice a comedian’s uncle gave him after leaving the clink. Either way, it’s about committing to your message in a super bodily way. The same way singing sounds shitty if we don’t shove the air from deep in our bellies up through our chests – the same goes when someone’s speaking. You say it from the cavity your heart lives in – and you’re both speaking from the heart and “Sayin it with yo chest!”
But if you sound like Milton from Office Space, you’ll be treated like Milton from Office Space.
Then there’s one for the teen girls taking half noodz and uploading them to social media. The new “what if I threw a party and nobody came?” has become “what if I uploaded a selfie and nobody liked it?” When external validation becomes a priority, you trade in doing or learning new things you like for sitting around and waiting for someone to tell you you’re okay.
Which this says…
…almost as well as this:
And, in keeping with the vein of what propagated this tale – I leave you with the following:
This is an great example of nondualism: totes different quotes with the same message.
And it shows that regardless of who we are or what we’ve experienced, we make our reality. That reality’s the product of our habitual intention and attention. So, for me, constantly reading lugubrious infographic confirmations of my deficits doesn’t inspire me to switch off the ignition to my car slowly filling with carbon monoxide and give life a second try.
But knowing others make light of a plight we share sure does.
I mean – who the eff leaves the show when there’s still laughs to be had?