Skip to main content

Flying Across The Universe. Or Something So Big About The Little Dipper.

"Who am I? What is my purpose? What the hell does all of this mean?"
-Everyone I have ever spoken to, ever 

The universe is big. Yuge as they say. To contemplate it is a gigantic undertaking. Some nights I sit on my front porch and in between slapping mosquitoes and horseflies I think about how insignificant I can seem as compared to the stars. Stars are giant balls of gas burning so bright we can see them from here. Imagine the scope. Imagine how small you feel compared to a ball of gas! Then ask yourself: who cares? My lot in life is to do what I need to do. What I want to do. I'm not in the cosmos. I'm not a star. I'm just me. That's ok too. Being someone or something else would be a colossal undertaking   I have all my practice at being me. My celestial contemplation is a romantic thought but the truth is I have my place. My place is here on Earth and my purpose is always evolving. I'm a friend, a son, a brother and an uncle. I'm an artist and a musician and an author and a blogger. Most importantly I am Armand. The unexamined life is life not worth living. Think about what that means. We're all here living together. We have the same hang ups, the same doubts and the same frustrations. More than anything, the issues we have, though different on the outside, are similar when broken down. What changes is how we react and how it affects us. We all hit walls and we all fail. The things that vary are the ways that we go from point a to point b. The paths we have to tread are all unique. The struggles are very real. That different-sameness brings us together. We need each other. We all have a purpose and that makes us a big group of connected people. We can all empathize and should understand at least how it might feel to be at the end of a rope. We've all looked at those stars and felt small. It's easy to get lost in the mess that is real life. To get bogged down in the details instead of enjoying the ride. Who cares about how big those stars are? We all shine in different ways. Thinking about that gives you too much stress and adds too much to your mind. I like the beach but not the ocean. I can feel like I'm in control sitting on the sand. The ocean is in charge when you're going for a swim. So I respect the ocean. Just like I respect the stars. And I keep my place in the whole continuum in check.  Don't overthink things. Keep yourself calm and don't put unneeded stress on yourself   Enjoy the night sky. Enjoy the moment you're in and don't worry about the ones that are gone. If you can go to space take a look around and appreciate it for what it is: something big impressive and vast. Also appreciate your part in it: someone who has a lot to see and not a lot of time to see it. Day in and day out we learn new things about ourselves and each other. We see many different things and we take new chances. Oftentimes we also bite off a little more than we can handle. Take a step back and allow yourself to appreciate what you see and experience for what it is and not over analyze it. Space is mysterious and vast. So is your life. Don't try to explore both of them at once; you have a lot more fun to experience. Focus on the now. We don't know why we're here or where we're going and that's kind of the point. You are thrown so much day to day and you figure it out as you go taking the lessons you've learned along the way and hopefully having an easier time. Thinking about why takes time away from getting to the next step. Don't get buried by the details. And above all, let yourself be the star of your journey. Every step you take is one closer to being your true self. Embrace the parts of you that make you happy and let go of those which make you uncomfortable and crazy inside. Look at the stars and see them as a part of the whole of existence. You're part of it too. We all have our place and we each have our season. So tonight as I look at the stars I think more about how they shine than why they do. The stars are there and I am here. It's my place and it's all for now. One day those stars will burn out and so will I. When I do I will come back somehow and my energy will pass on to someone or something else. I will take every chance I can to make sure my energy is bright like those stars. And I will make things better today than they were yesterday. Wasting my time worrying about how and why only gets in the way. 

In a universe full of stars, burn brightly, love strongly and take care of yourself. You  are the driver and you forge your path. Don't get caught reading directions when you can just drive. 🖖 


See you Thursday. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do or do not there is no try

When I was a kid I thought I was going to be a doctor. Then I watched the movie Look Who's Talking  saw the scene where Kirstie Alley has her baby and that ended that. I was about six and my mind was very easily changed. From that point on I started to make a lot of choices that I questioned. In kindergarten we had a bear that each of us would take for a week and care for. When the week was over we would give him (the bear was male, I peeked between his legs) something to remember us by like a hand colored picture or a leaf from the yard. The school year went by and I never got my chance to take care of the bear. When June approached and I being fully aware that there wasn't a whole week left asked my teacher, a wonderful man who I think of to this day, why I didn't get a chance his answer was simple: because you get to take him for the entire summer Armand. Now, most kids would see this as a huge opportunity and something to be excited about. I get to watch this bear all
Post a Comment
Read more

Everybody hurts. Or Don't Hideout in Your Hobbit Hole

The other day I had lunch with a friend of mine. She was talking about how she feels like she's treading water and swimming in circles all at the same time. Her life doesn't feel like it has purpose and she wants to run away from where she is. I listened to her as she told me her issues and concerns and if I'm being honest I feel a lot of the same things she does. I feel like giving up hope just as she told me she does. I have felt like my life was a rich full fucking waster and that what I do is meaningless. But I also realized that most people seem to feel that way. Everybody hurts and that kind of sucks. I prefer to think that it's a select few but the more I talk to others the more I realize that life just kind of sucks all the time and there are random dashes of pleasure sprinkled in between. As wonderful as that all sounds there is a glimmer of hope. Hope that we shouldn't let go of. Hope that we need to cling to but not in the white knuckled kind of way like
Post a Comment
Read more

Find Your Happy Place. Or, Taking Time For You.

"The Best In The World At What I Do." -CM Punk When 2015 became 2016 I made a resolution just like so many others. It wasn't to lose weight or try to stop smoking. I promised myself that I would try something new every month. Not become a yes man with a yes year but rather take one risk or try something that I had always wanted to do. I started out small. Going for a walk in the evenings for January ( yes I know that's stupid to do in winter). Cooking at home in February. Bought a new guitar in march and said I would practice every night like when I was in college and high school. Honestly most of these things have stuck and it feels good to have a new outlook and new stuff to do in my life. The one that really made me feel different was June. That's when I began to paint.  I put this piece together and I haven't been able to stop since. Painting is something I had wanted to try for the longest time (oh oh oh oh for the longest time) but had never
Post a Comment
Read more