Stop! Sucking! Day 21: You-be-do-be-you

In case any of you were wondering, the main reason for my trip to Chicago was to attend this event.

Well, in case any of you were an IRS auditor from the future, anyway.

But here’s the reason I really made this trip: to see my people. My people whom I’ve known a lifetime, or half a lifetime, or a third of a lifetime. And my people whom I mostly or only know from our time together online—I came to see you, too.

It’s lonely out there, and tough, and these are strange times to be a human being on the planet. In fact, it’s so crazy out there right now, with so many people running around like characters out of a Lewis Carroll story, that it becomes all the more important to hunker down with one’s homies and get the truth via that mirror:

Yes, you’re okay.

Yes, you’re sane (or at least, crazy in the good way).

Yes, it’s kinda wild out there now.

Everyone knows how hard it is to get tone right over the internet. And the phone helps, but really, it’s a measure of last resort, and a far, far better tool once you already have some grounding in reality with the person. I’m here to do the bonding in person, because that’s what people who live in the third dimension do: they see, touch, hear and, depending on how close they are or how the spirit is moving them, taste and smell each other.

I can’t begin to describe how difficult my life has been these past several months without A PLAN. Because (a), historically, I’ve operated under one; and (b) when I’ve done, I’ve done well. Even if I hated what I was doing, I at least knew why I was doing it (money, ambition, fame) and what to do. Now, I’m down to a mission statement, and one of your spazzier ones at that: “To be a joyful conduit of truth, beauty and love.”

Some business plan, huh?

I had a new (internet) friend write me recently to ask if maybe I was work-impaired. I guess I am, but not in the way (I think) he meant. I’ve got all the work I can handle right now, being me and figuring out how I make myself useful to the universe. It’s work I chose, and that meant I had to stop some other kinds of work—i.e., the paying kind—to do it. If my father was here, he’d tell me I was crazy like my mother, and then ask if I needed money.

For the record, I’m not and, for now, I don’t. I am trusting that if I work hard at what I know I can do—write stuff down, illuminate darkish corners, make people laugh a little—the rest will work itself out.

It is a leap of faith, the stopping. But the alternative—to go and go and go, and be stopped by whatever rock drops on my head in 10 or 20 or, if I’m lucky, another 47 years—is no longer an option.

I gotta be me. Nonstop, 24/7/365.

And now, off I go to meet a few new old friends…

xxx
c

Image by emdot via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

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15 Comments, Comment or Ping

  1. Dept. of It’s A Small Internet World: emdot, whose giraffe photo graces this page, is probably my oldest internet friend! We’ve been part of a very quirky email list since 1997. It was supposed to be people interested in web design, but just morphed into a large online family (with all the dysfunction and love that implies).

    Friends: we need all we can get. Thank you, Internet, for helping me have a few more.

  2. Looking forward to meeting you there! :)

  3. Jean - Wow. That *is* a small world! And yes–yay, Internet!

    Karen - Likewise!

  4. I find it fascinating how the internet can bring so many different people from different walks of life together. Jean mentioned “online family”, I think that’s the perfect description!

    Ms. C, loving the daily updates. Glad to see you’re back on track, keeping us on track!

  5. Tim

    What the hell?
    Stop sucking?
    You may be a joyful conduit to truth beauty and love, but you come here and suddenly the Cubs SUCK!
    I’m thinkin’ you may also be some kind of joyful conduit to The Goat.
    Just kidding.
    Not about the Cubs sucking, the other part.

    If I may ask: do you get a new title with that mission statement?

    Go Cubs.

  6. Joe

    Hey C,
    Loved meeting your sassy little butt at SOBCon, I think you have that sucky stuff under total control.
    Oh, and thanks for the 5 minute guest post.
    Joe

  7. Angie - Thanks, babe. I do what I can from my crazy little corner, here.

    Tim - I swear it wasn’t me! I swear! I swear! But I’ll leave tomorrow anyway, just to be on the safe side.

    As to titles, you will have to pry “communicatrix” from my cold, dead blog. But maybe a sub-title. “Non-athletic mug” isn’t bad. Gift from the ex, the Chief Atheist.

    Just Joe! It was my pleasure meeting you! Thanks for entrusting me with your baby. Keep writing, you’ll bury it fast.

  8. Colleen, it was super to connect with you at SOBCon, I am becoming a subscriber and you will become part of my extended family.

  9. I’m so sorry that I had to miss out on SobCon. It sounds like it was wonderful.
    I love your mission, and second it!

  10. C:

    It’s been too long since my last drop in here. I always garner some little nugget in your posts. Like this: “…and, depending on how close they are or how the spirit is moving them, taste and smell each other.” Yes it does depend doesn’t it?

    So in true “steal-from-the-best-ideas” mode, I’m coming up with my own month-long blogging investment ala The Communicatrix. Something about having a birthday and looking at life, work and relationships (at the young age of 43) makes me wanna have one of those things…errrr…what did you call it? Oh yeah, A PLAN!

  11. @Stephen - Likewise, baby! On both counts.

    Sunny - It was a spectacular group of people. Seriously. The people alone were worth the price of admission. Plus there was a boat ride with spectacular views of MY CHICAGO!!!

    Gotta work on this ego/pride thing.

    DailyTri - I’m honored and thrilled to have you lift my idea. It’s actually my secret, evil plan, so thanks for playing along.

  12. It’s so wonderful that you’re taking this quest–putting things aside to really figure out what you want. I’m not so sure how one becomes a conduit for truth, beauty, and love…but leave it to you to make a new idea into a something tangible, something to be passionate about, something with impact.

    I wish all of us would take some time to look around and consider where we’re headed. I wish I could follow that advice.

    It was great to meet you this weekend. Consider me yet another subscriber.

  13. So how about we start a petition to have Ms. C write a 365 Day Salute! A couple of days off for good behavior…Christmas and New Years. Oh, and of course September 13th!!

  14. Jared - That is such a beautiful compliment; I’m kind of at a loss–an uncharacteristic one, as you might guess–for words. Thank you, and I’ll try to stay worthy of such a lovely assessment.

    Angie - As for you, Miss Sassy…well, take it up with City Hall! Or find me a cushy, MSM columnist gig! Then you’ll get Colleen Wainwright out the wazoo. Woo-hoo!

  15. ‘Twas a classic experience, getting to hang with you in your town, C.

    And you’re right; knowing you in the comment box was cool… graduating to the phone was great… but spending time in person was epic. First of many chances, I hope.



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