Dead Man Walking, "What am I supposed to do now?"

Yes, I know, I said I was doing the New Age next, but this popped into my head. -- Mother.

Ian Hunter does a wonderful song called "Dead Man Walking," the lyrics of which can be found at: http://www.hunter-mott.com/lyrics/rant.html#DeadManWalkin
It's a brutal, honest look at being a certain age. It's a great wallow song if you feel like wallowing and has some lovely piano bits.

I bring this up, because I have been reading of late of people who find themselves lolling the doldrums, maybe because of age, maybe because of natural temperament. I read their words and I hear "Dead Man Walking" in my head.

If I could speak to them though, I wouldn't quote lyrics at them. I would remind them first of all they have and shouldn't take for granted. You have a job, think of those that don't, who worry about how to keep the lights on and feed their kids. You have a home, think of those that don't and will be sleeping on the sidewalks tonight. You have food and health and the your nation, however divided, isn't being destroyed by civil war. There are many who can't say that. I'm sure they know those things, but being reminded never hurts.

Given all that, humans are basically selfish creatures, so even being "comfortable" when others lack basics, they are still apt to look at their lot and find it lacking. I have, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that, so a reminder of all that is good is good, but it isn't enough.

Want to get rid of your over-abundance of possessions? Don't go on e-bay, call a charity. Got too much time staring you in the face? Volunteer teaching people to read or teach English to immigrants. Join a Guide dog training program and bring an animal into your life that, if you both work hard enough, will become the eyes or ears of someone who needs them. Volunteer to answer phones at a crisis hotline. Go to a convalescent hospital and offer to be a companion to someone who has no one else in their life. Your life will have meaning and you will be helping others. You will also have less time to wonder whether or not your life has the degree of happiness that our Western consumer-based culture promises you will have if you just buy the right products, pills, and services.

Still not enough? Then look at all the things you have not tried. Here's a partial list of things I have not tried. You can borrow it if you like: Canning preserves; yoga; quitting smoking again; reading Don Quixote; watching the AFI Top 100 films of all time; travelling to about 100,000 places I want to see in my lifetime; cleaning behind the refrigerator (ok, I have done that, but not in this millennium); trading my practical car for a roadster before giving up my car and relying on public transport; volunteering to work on a political campaign; finding just the right version of that cool-whip and jello pie I loved as a kid; learning to play chess well; meeting in person all my friends from the internet; writing a novel with a beginning, a middle, and an end. That should be enough to get anyone started and everyone, if they think about it, has their own list. If you truly have no list, you poor unfortunate soul, you best start making one.

And finally, quit waiting for "the right time" to start living your life. So often I have heard people say they will get on with their life goals when the time is right, when they have the money, when the kids get in school or out of school or out of the house, when they meet the right man, woman, or llama, when the stars are aligned just right and guarantee the success of their endeavor. THERE IS NO RIGHT TIME! Keep waiting and you'll be laying on your death-bed wondering what you did with all those years you spent waiting.