It's also true that some people are pretty stupid. In my opinion, these are people who ride three-wheeled contraptions and that guy who jumped off of the Eiffel Tower with a cape. Come on, folks. Nature wins, every time.
I was thinking the other day about how it might be a clever thing to get a particular custom t-shirt made. It would be chocolate brown, and on the chest it would read in gold letters: My name is M, and my poop smells.
You're probably laughing a little.
Or shocked.
Or praying for me.
I'll take 'em all.
What I'm trying to say is that on most days, I feel (and certainly behave) like I have the master copy of life's manual, My Way tucked into my back pants pocket. You see, I know how to answer the phone the right way, cook an omelet the right way, drive a car the right way (HA), and even tell a story the right way. I've got the instruction book that you desperately need. In fact, I AM the instruction book, so listen up.
(If you don't know, I tell stories as well as a rat giving you directions to the interstate)
So I've got this rule book, my rule book, in one back pocket, and in the other, I've got a copy of another text, The Highway. I'm sure you're following at this point. My way.... the highway....
Bottom line: I am CRAZY.
I am crazy not to listen more, to learn more, to shut up more. I am the girl who has walked into walls [in daylight] and talks more to her cat than to most people. The woman who drives to the right town in the wrong state is certainly not a woman who should be giving any form of instruction, even omelet instruction.
I spent a bit of this week at a conference for industry professionals, and again I realized that... my poop smells. Shocker. Don't ask me how I ever manage to forget this - somehow I find a way. I am young. I am arrogant. I am at the beginning of things. I am NOT an expert. I am just another girl, and need as much advice and help is my dense mind can possibly absorb. Particularly in the area of common sense, in which I am desperately lagging.
Harry Truman said, The only things worth learning are the things you learn after you know it all.
I shouldn't need a reminder for my insufficiency, but sometimes I do. And there is no better reminder than smart people.
In conclusion, I'm 100% positive that I need to listen more, hear more, and humble myself more.
And here's an unrelated (your favorite kind, I'm sure) and free snip-it for you readers:
Refrain from keeping books in your back pockets.
No one likes a lumpy butt.
No one likes a lumpy butt.
I feel like my manual is made of bits and pieces from different stages of my life, a collection of essays written by different people.
ReplyDeleteListening is important but you have the final say. Be proud of who you are.
I saw this girl in Borders once who had a paperback collection of poetry rolled up in her back pocket. I thought she was attractive for doing that.
You're right - we must truly see and know who we are before we can receive anything from anyone. I appreciate your response.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I can someday make the dream of being a poetry-reader a reality, I'll try to remember where I should keep it. She must have been something.