Better Luck, Next Year Well, its New Years Eve. And Im all dressed up with nowhere to go. But then again, after the year Ive had, maybe I should just sit my ass down somewhere. After all, Ive gone from being strong as ox to start 2014, to being on the mend, with a nifty scar on my throat an inch wide, trying to rebuild my body to its past glory, and trying to regain full usage of my left hand. Yesterday, in therapy, a tiny rubber band defeated me. It all confirmed that even after surgery, I have a long road back. If there is a road back. But no complaints. Survive and advance. Thats the game. Life is a war of attrition, and each year you learn that sometimes the pluses in ones bounty are simply the things that you DONT lose, not what you gain. For instance, remember that no matter what your struggle is, there is somebody worse than you. For the past week, Ive held a pity party for myself. Lamenting rolling and pushing out clay with my left fingers. Breaking live sweats in drills like using tweezers to place tiny pegs in holes, expanding my fingers in therapeutic play-doh. Feeling defeated with a rubber band wrapped over my fingers, and I dont have the strength to expand my grasp. Ironically in 2014, Ive expanded my grasp in different mediums. Made new friends. Somehow gained a loyal base. Somehow, made more good impressions than bad. All while staving off elimination. Ive survived and advanced. I staged a one-man show based off my book this spring. It was so well-received that im going to do it again -- several times over, with even more bells and whistles than the first and take it to new audiences and fresh faces. Who in the hell thought my brand of foolishness could be incubated. Who knew I could write? Who knew I could act? Who knew I could be funny? No one. Not even me. But here I am, scraping nickels for more shows, for more work. More hustle. More survival. See, thats what Im getting at. Survival isnt a stark reward, is it? It cant be. We do GROW Amid the attrition. Like trees shed leaves and vegetation browns and wither during certain seasons -- those roots still get deeper in the ground, yes? That vegetation comes back to sprout or bloom or blossom and even pollenate during the season of warmer suns. Survive and advance. Right now, at this very moment, on my timeline, I know many who are suffering. Friends with bouts of cancer. Friends whove lost family and spouses, in shocking manner, no less. I even got word of an old coworker with flesh-eating bacteria ravishing her body. Its all scary really. How anything can change to us in a heartbeat. But thats why we survive those chilly times. So we can have the promise of blooming. After all, on my same timeline, I have friends whose 2014 was all springtime: they gained fiancees and spouses and children (not necessarily in that order); got their education and became Dr. Shawns Friend or started their own businesses. Some have even sat -- and conversed! -- in the same room as the President of the United States. Indeed, they are advancing. But its all the verisimilitudes of life. Ive noted some stark contrasts to illustrate all that here. But you know it to be true. You cant advance without survival. I cant type but as you can see, I can still text. And honestly, I just need to chill. I will get back. Although Im a righty, Im pretty sure my left hand is worth having. And anything worth having is worth fighting for. Heres your take away (before you get too festive to get it): we talk about what we are going to do in the future as if we know how much time we have left. As Eliot says in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, we measure our decisions and revisions in coffee spoons. And why? Prufrock gets it wrong. We cant budget our life, sometimes, AS IF WE KNOW how much of it we have in the bank. So when you make that resolution, remember to be grateful for the survival. And as long as you stay in the fight you -- all of us -- will ADVANCE. Tonight, like Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman, I got no place to go. But wherever I am come midnight, Im gonna thank the Good Lord for my family and friends, and for the adversity, which always makes the Victory taste better. And Im gonna thank Him for the survival. And Im doing it with a toast. Because while the motor skills arent all there, I can still hold a champagne flute in my left hand with confidence. Thank you for the survival, Lord, in 2014. Now in the new year, when Im on stage, on the laptop or behind a podium or wherever -- watch me ADVANCE. First stop: Athens, Georgia. Curtain goes up January 24. Tickets on sale Monday. Stay tuned.... So cheer up. Make those resolutions. But raise that glass. And as that old saying goes, Better luck, next year. Next year, is NOW. Cheers. And Happy New Year! Share if ya dare. And like and follow @TheBrokeBrosRev (twitter); and Www.Facebook/TheChauvinistBBR
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 19:17:13 +0000