7,000 somethings…

I have long since argued the ideas of change, religion, love, and that undying, unwavering question “what do I want?”.  I have spent years questioning my beliefs and trying to come up with some sense of clarity on these matters has become a burden in and of itself.  Not to say I am even remotely close to an answer or sense of understanding, but I have arrived at a place that parallels the idea of “it’s OK not to know”.

How the past shapes and molds your future has left me wondering where things took their turns.  What decisions were made, deaths, break-ups, and gestures in faith challenged my once steadfast belief system.  When did I become so cynical?  Who am I to necessarily call it cynicism when I believe it to be realistic?  But is my reality necessarily a truth to ponder?

The approach I have come to believe in is that I sense now why these things happen, why I am the way I am, and why I have made challenges to be simple and transparent, or callous and detrimental.  These decisions were mine.  In the end of it all, I had no one else to blame or argue with but the person inside of this body.  I turned every key, set the kitchen fire that would ultimately lead to my sobriety, was reckless in relationships, and like a coward, ran away thinking it would change me.  It took that to understand that change is not a concept I believe in.  Faith is not something I believe in.  What I can only believe in is what I have in front of me: me.  These acts are mine.  They will be what ultimately promotes and furthers my life.  I cannot pray for improvement for it will not be given – I have to make it happen on my own, with these two hands shaking with every sense of nervousness available.  And if I want someone, well, I dare you to stand in my way.

I remember waiting for the world to change – my little life to shift into the argument of perfection I had so desired.  When it didn’t happen, I wondered why.  The answer to that being simple: I didn’t make it happen.  So now.  What now?  What to do in order to secure the goals I have finally, after 25 years of faltering and questioning, set up for myself?  Granted, no one ever really knows what they want, but I have made the list of five things I know I do.  All independent.  All without outside resources or assistance.  And with a little push and courage of conviction, I will at last make these ideas my reality, not just a fable to close my eyes about.

I remember when I was little thinking the white picket fence wasn’t that appealing.  Well, five year old Mary, you were right.  It’s not right for me (or us, although those two are closely one in the same, just add two decades).  That same little girl thought this was going to be easy though.  She thought it was all going to fall and land in her lap one day without effort on a grandiose scale.  I remember thinking if I followed all of the necessary steps that it would happen.  Those necessary steps aren’t right for everyone though and aren’t consistently all-encompassing.  Well, in my backwards way, I walked the line and did the steps.  Some worked, some failed miserably and ended up with 7.000 additional miles on my car, dog, and cat.  But when this is all said and done, those 7,000 miles will be 7,000 things I did right.  Each mile marking something.  Albeit small, each step is a step in the right direction and if I remind myself enough on the days that I falter, just to look in the mirror and know there is one thing strong enough to believe in.  Me.