Human Race

The Universe is not out to get you.

I know that’s an odd way to start this blog, but I think there are people who out there who need to hear that. 

It’s easy to get overwhelmed and feel crushed when things don’t go our way.  And not only when things don’t go our way, but when everything falls apart and we fail.

Sometimes, we like to play the blame game, and try to pin it on someone else.  My business failed because the locals didn’t support me.  Our team failed because the other guys cheated.  I failed the test because the teacher asked too many hard or trick questions.

We all fail.  And it’s not because the mean girls spread nasty rumors about us.  Or because the refs were paid off.  Or because the Universe hates us.

Sometimes, we just blow it.  And sometimes, bad stuff happens to us.

The thing is, sometimes, everyone screws up.  And sometimes, bad stuff happens to everyone.  But screw ups and bad stuff are subjective.  Something I consider bad might not be a big deal to you.  And something that you consider bad might not mean anything to someone else.

This isn’t about others having it worse off than you.  While that may be true, it’s also sanctimonious crap people like to say.  You’ll get ‘em next time.  There are starving children in China.  There’s other fish in the sea.

Seriously, does that help?

I know someone who had a plumbing problem recently that flooded the lower level of their home.  While that may be worse than any problem in my own house at the moment, it doesn’t change the fact that my dishwasher is on the fritz.  My dishwasher problem probably seems insignificant to those folks with a flooded house.  I bet they’d even wish that a dishwasher issue was all they had to deal with.

And there are probably others who don’t have a dishwasher, who might not even have a home, who wouldn’t mind having a problem like this.

But to me, it’s a big deal.  Even bigger when the repairman says there’s no point in trying to fix it.

Perspective.

See, we all have our own problems, our own challenges, our own burdens.  And just because you don’t notice someone else’s doesn’t mean they don’t have plenty of their own, too.  But we tend to let ours get so big that we wind up being unable to see anyone else’s.

And we think that we’re the only ones.  And obviously the Universe is out to get us.

Been there.  Done that.  Got the t-shirt (and then the washing machine ruined it).

Last week, I had string of bad things happen.  Some rough financial and professional things happened.  We’ve all had those.  Where you just want to make it through the week. 

Now one of those things could have been my fault, though I don’t know how I could have done anything differently.  The other involves a delinquent client.

Without the details, that probably doesn’t sound so bad.  But it was crushing.  Mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.

One of those weeks where I started to wonder why I even bother.

But I realized today that the sun still came up.  The Earth was still turning.  The world didn’t end.

And with a little time and a little healing, I think I figured out how to handle both of those giant issues.

Will what I figured out work?  I hope so, but I honestly don’t know.  Still, it’s worth a shot.  And there are other clients to find and other professional endeavors to attempt.

And you know what?  That’s the secret.

The Universe doesn’t hate you, and it isn’t heaping misfortune on you to see how you’ll react, or to laugh as you stumble and fall.

Instead, the Universe cheers you on when you get back up and find a way to keep going.

Everyone has suffered some kind of crushing setback, miserable failure or just plain old bad luck. 

Think of it like a $100 bill.

There are some people who don’t consider a hundred bucks to be much money.  Hardly worth noticing.  They spend more than that on valets.

And there are some who wouldn’t be excited to have an extra hundred dollar payment, but it wouldn’t have a long-last impact on them.

And there are some who can’t imagine ever having an extra hundred dollars.

And there are even some who have never had a hundred dollars (and may never have it).

Failure is like that.  It isn’t one size fits all.

This blog is called “Human Race” for a couple of reasons.  The obvious one is that bad things happen to everyone.  It doesn’t mean the Universe hates you, it just means you’re human.

The other is because it’s a song.

If you weren’t listening to a rock radio station in the early 1980’s, you probably don’t know this one.  It’s by a Canadian band called Red Rider.  If you know any of their songs, it’s probably “Lunatic Fringe”.  The lead singer is Tom Cochrane, who had a monster hit in 1991 with “Life Is A Highway”.

There are lots of songs out there about getting knocked down and getting back up again, but this is the one that has always stuck with me.

So no matter what happens this week, take a moment to heal, and then get back up.  The Universe loves that.