The end of the year is a good time for lasts, so here’s one last piece.
You know what’s beautiful? The way someone’s eyes light up and sparkle when they talk about something or someone they love or are passionate about. It is, by far, one of the purest things to witness, a person getting that excited just to talk and share about what keeps them going, the things or people that inspire them and what just fills them with wonder.
It isn’t often seen, so if you get the opportunity to, cherish it. Because unlike the last time you hung out or spent time with someone you love before they passed on, it’s possible to realise the significance of those moments before they’re gone.
These days, a lot of people are guarded, they have walls around them higher than the one Trump wants Mexico to build and it’s only once in a blue moon that they’ll share what they keep inside. It’s the kind of thing that I’d feel extremely privileged to be chosen for, unless they somehow have a passion for murder or something else along those lines… Then I really need to question what it is about me that made them feel that that is the kind of thing they could share with me, not that it’s already happened…
English is weird, how is “that” used consecutively like that proper? And how’s that for misdirection, but I digress.
We all have our hang-ups and personal peeves. You could be the kind of person that asks questions during a movie. That kind of thing annoys most people, or at least I’d like to think so, because if not then I’m even weirder than I thought I was.
How am I, a person who is also watching the same movie for the first time, qualified enough to answer your questions? If you’re lost or confused about what’s happening, then how much better do you think I’m doing?
I know it’s maddening to sit there wondering why one character is doing one thing when you’re thinking they should be doing something else, but you know what’s worse. Being interrupted and getting asked things you have neither the information nor the inclination to answer. It’s the cinematic equivalent of being stuck in a hole and asking someone else in there with you, to climb out and pull you up.
But that’s enough of that, because I feel like I’m losing you here. Are you wondering where I’m going with this ramble? Well, unlike the plots and storylines you’ve missed out on, this isn’t actually going anywhere.
Reading this is a bit like following me on Twitter or Instagram, there isn’t some grand lesson I’m leading you to, we’re just a bunch of people following each other trying to talk when no-one wants to listen and all I really want to do is highlight the contrast between talking about something you love, and something you can’t stand.
The difference? You shouldn’t feel guilty for asking someone to stop when whatever they’re talking about isn’t particularly positive or constructive.
This isn’t because we’re oh so sensitive and our fragile constitutions should be protected at all costs from anything that isn’t rainbows and butterflies. It’s because much like the questions asked during movies by the lost, some things just aren’t worth saying.
But you know what is?
The “thank you’s” and all the other words you’ve been dying to say to someone all year, shoot your shot. Tell that guy or girl that you’ve been feeling that you want the chance to make them happy, take a leap and do something you’ve always wanted to do. It doesn’t matter when you do it; and it being the end of the year won’t make it easier or give you a better chance of a good outcome, but there really is no time like right now. In the words of Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda, it is a gift, that is why it is called the present.
So take the present like the gift it is and make the most out of it, appreciate it and let your life appreciate with it.
The end of the year is a good time for lasts and not to sound ominous, but here are my last words. Use these last few days and leave all the negativity you’ve been hoarding where it belongs, in the past. Go into the New Year the person you want to be; better than yesterday, better than what people think you are and better than what you thought you could be. Make 2o17 the last time you waste yours or someone else’s time, stop leading that person on and if the reverse is true, stop letting yourself be led on. Wake up and realise that the stink isn’t your top lip but all the shit you shouldn’t hold on to, and as difficult as the truth may be to hear, acknowledged or learn from, it’s what you have to do.
And what I have to do is thank you; whether we’re family, acquaintances or friends, both new and old. Thank you for the smiles and the good times, to the long nights and the days that ended all too soon. Thank you for being you and most of all for taking the time to read this, words written don’t mean anything unless they’re seen.
So do better because know you know better, prosper, take no bullshit and eat your pineapples.
Happy New Year, be good.
Oh and the title is Latin for “Forever and a day”
And here’s the second last sunset of 2o17…
Yugen 