One Life No Drama

Burr, it's chilly! Yesterday while on my morning walk I didn’t think of something new or different, but somehow I felt this thought on a different level. As I walked past a man smoking a cigarette, I thought, “We get one chance at life, why take life so seriously.”

I didn’t have an answer for it; I still don’t. Though I can understand our human need or want for change and/or progress, it doesn’t explain why we take it so seriously. If we get one chance at life, why not take it lightly with a grain of salt and a smile on our faces.

As I continued walking, I thought of the soap opera One Life to Live. Though, I’ve never seen it, I can imagine the drama involved. What I can’t imagine is my own life filled with drama; it’s not who I am or want to be. I've had enough of it in my 20's especially in my relationsips. (Oh boy, I could have won some awards.)

The trick now, is how do I keep this idea of living lightly with me everyday, as much as possible? Is it a matter of simply surrendering? Yesterday after my walk, I felt lighter in spirit. A sort of who gives a fuck about it. Not that I didn’t care, but that I couldn’t continue on this path of trying to analyze or understand everything. I’ll go crazy. I want to smile and laugh more. Kids do this so easily. Sure they have their own dramas, but they forget them so rather quickly. They move on; they laugh again. They play.

The portrait here is titled, “Oprah.” A few days ago, my great friend Angel reminded me about Oprah's obsession with wanting to be in The Color Purple. It was in surrendering and singing to herself gospel song “I Surrender All” that her reality came to fruition. I’ve been thinking a lot about these words...I surrender. Maybe it’s not just about taking life lightly but more so about surrendering, of letting go and relinquishing control. I’m writing this with tears in eyes all while listening to Ce Ce Winans sing the hymn. Has my need to control taken me away from being fully embraced in life? I think it has. I’ll take this thought with me today. What’s the worst that can happen if I surrender all…If I have one life to be me.

You've got one life to be you.