Shit Happens!!!

“What’s past is prologue,” utters the character Antonio in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. I’ve seen this quote before. Hell, it’s even engraved beneath a monument that sits outside of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Sure, this quote seems influential and timeless, but what in the hell does it mean? It almost seems cryptic. According to what I could gather, by way of my exceptional investigative abilities and techniques (i.e., Google), it suggests that everything that one has experienced in life has essentially set-the-stage for what is currently taking place. Moreover, your past—the good and the bad—has defined and led you to be who you are in the present. Wow, that shit’s deep! So, why blog about it? Well, for me, it’s simple: my life sucked (it HAS gotten markedly better, so spare me the pity party) for the past umpteen months, thus I am wearily attempting to suggest that it has been so for a damn good reason.

Life can be uncanny at times. It seems, to me, that life’s difficulties come in bunches; therefore, the down times can seem somewhat overwhelming in the moment. I, personally, hit an axiomatic low this past year, and it was a very gloomy and unforgiving time in my life (I know…I know…I’ll reluctantly spare you the details). I didn’t, however, let it keep me down. I may have had a little Gloria Gaynor in my subconscious (Shit! I can’t believe that I just said that). Anyway, I have always been a fighter. I have always liked the term pugnacious in referencing my overall attitude. For as long as I can remember, I have always been one to survive and persevere through the most difficult times. Fuck, I’m a former Marine…adapt and overcome. Ha! Frankly, this past year or so has been unsettling at best. I experienced it all, from death to betrayal. I even sought guidance from others in an effort to combat an unfamiliar depressive state of mind, which is extremely rare for me (I’m a man, I don’t ask for help). Overall, I concluded that this is life. Love it or hate it bad things happen, yet we can’t let them pave the path of our future. Sure, sometimes we get kicked while we are down; however, these hard learned lessons have merely “set-the-stage” for our present and future being. I never truly grasped and understood depression before. I, regrettably, used to deride those who refused to see the good in their lives, yet I found myself in the same boat. Shame on me, right? Ah, fuck it!

We are not immune to life’s trials and tribulations. “Shit happens,” goes the old adage. Life goes on, and we must be willing to accept that. Once we do, everything seems to fall into place. I am staring intensely into the future (not stalker like staring, but I’m looking pretty damn hard), as I know that I have a lot of good memories yet to make. I have been blessed with a beautiful, amazing wife and two wonderful children. It gets better, I can attest to that. What we endure only makes us stronger…I believe that vehemently. If you are going through a rough patch, let me be your strength and motivation. I am a very strong willed and stubborn meathead, but I have truly come to see life in a new light. It’s beautiful, and I can assure you that you can overcome the most difficult of times. If I can do it, anyone can. As Thomas Jefferson declared, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”  Well said, sir…well said. Let the past influence your future, not control it.

*Thoughts from my husband, J.