Brianland

the Best in Kerouac & the Beats, Adventure, Politics, Music, Movies, Poetry & other Lifejoys

Brianland header image 2

Every Day Is A Gift

January 24th, 2012 · 7 Comments · Poetry, Real-life Adventure Tales, Weird Things About Me


Every Day Is A Gift

 

by Brian Hassett

gift-photo

Every day you’re alive is a gawd-damned gift.  And that’s the whole shot, as Gregory Corso would say.

Try adding up all the times your Indomitable Spirit was challenged but did not topple in a deathly firestorm of adversity.  There’s probably been a hundred of them, and many more when you were a couple of seconds from Ka-Plooey and never even knewy it.

Remember all those times you were so depressed you almost killed yourself — or those premonitions which never came true about dying on some trip — or the ice patch skids you blindly avoided — or the hiking adventures where you barely made it back — or the other car that went out of control just seconds away from you — or your pilot who just missed last call at the bar because his cab got stopped at a red light because the car in front was going slow because the driver was arguing with her boyfriend when it was really a total misunderstanding — or the mugger who just missed the subway train and got to your neighborhood five minutes later — or all those times you said to yourself, “God, get me through this and I’ll be good forever” — that if only one of these had ended in death — which odds are would happen at least once in the hundred close calls — you’d be gone.  But you’re still here!  And living with that second chance at life that nobody really gets but every dying person prays for with all their might.

You’ve got that chance.  Feel blessed.  You are.  God, or whatever you call it, gave you a chance to go on, to do what you’re here to do, to add to The Big Picture the way you were meant to.

You’re still Alive, and no matter what happens today or tomorrow, it’s okay, because you’re not even supposed to be here anyway.

Every moment, every smile, every vista — is a pure gift, and don’ you-ever for-get it.

Remember all the good things that happened in the last year?  Then think of all the time you spent worrying and complaining and being pissed off or depressed about things.

Everything worked out the way it was supposed to, and the only mistake you made was the time you wasted and the Stress-Death Cards you collected by worrying about it.

And in the next year, all sorts of amazing and wonderful new things will happen that you have no idea about today.

You don’t have to worry about a thing.  And you certainly don’t have to worry about today, because Christ man, it’s a gift.

Simply unwrap, and play.  Batteries included.

 

=  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =

For some other inspirational tales and riffs . . .

Be The Invincible Spirit You Are

Visiting Vincent van Gogh

Sans Sons — A Song In Names Only

The Carolyn Cassady Birthday Poem

Brian’s Christmas Blessing

The Sneaking onto the Pittsburgh Penguins Bus Story

The Obama Inauguration Adventures

Winifred Mitty — Walter’s wife

The Day I Heard The Tambourine Man

A Song of Enid I Sing

The Toronto “On The Road” Adventure Story

The Grateful Dead Played My 30th Birthday

The Jumping Out Of A Car While Being Robbed, Killed or Kidnapped Story

==============================================

Brian Hassett           karmacoupon@gmail.com          BrianHassett.com

Tags: ·······

7 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Linda Ranson-Smith // Jan 24, 2012 at 10:29 PM

    This is so beautiful! What is it you say?
    “Groove forth and beautify.”
    You live those words — and I’m sure glad we reunited!!

  • 2 Robert Burke Warren // Jan 25, 2012 at 12:38 PM

    “Every moment, every smile, every vista — is a pure gift, and don’ you-ever for-get it.”
    Thanks for the reminder. 😉

  • 3 Levi Asher // Jan 26, 2012 at 7:07 PM

    Love the Corso reference!
    This is something Jack could have written.

  • 4 Kevin Kroeger // Feb 4, 2012 at 2:53 PM

    Be the Indomitable Spirit you are!
    This is like a prose version of your best poetry.
    Write on!

  • 5 Elizabeth Sutherland // Feb 13, 2012 at 9:46 PM

    Nice one, Uncle Bri. That’s the way I’ve lived, too. I guess we come by it honestly. 😉
    May we share many more gifts before the lights go out.

  • 6 Albert Kaufman // May 11, 2012 at 10:01 PM

    “Do what you’re here to do.” I love it. If everyone could internalize and remember and act on that we’d have a much better world.

  • 7 Bonnie Peers // May 26, 2012 at 10:28 AM

    You’re one of the most positive people I’ve never met!
    Thanks for all this!

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *