SOME ADVICE

in which we are letting shit go & everything's just fine

Pt. 1 — Self-Talk

Dear —

Now’s the time to remember what Mary Oliver wrote: 
“You do not have to be good.” 
That’s not to say you should quit trying, but rather, as they say, 
dear heart,
Take it easy —
After all, “You only have to let the soft animal of your body 
love what it loves.”
Isn’t that how it goes? 
Cry if you need to, release it, let it go,
but then put your cup down.
Recall what Toni’s father said, too: 
“Listen. You don’t live there. You live here. With your people. 
Go to work. Get your money. And come on home.”
Come on home to yourself.
Mary was absolutely right, of course:
“Meanwhile the world goes on.”
And so, too, will you.

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Pt. 2 — Stranger-Talk 

“Everywhere’s a nightmare. Doesn’t matter what you do for work. So just chill out about it, man.”

I overheard this back in June as I was getting my work bag out of my car, after commuting home from the office. I laughed, loudly, without meaning to, and the guy who said it — standing outside my building, one hand holding his phone to his ear, the other holding the leash on a huge, fluffy white dog — looked over at me, shrugged, and laughed too.

I didn’t catch what he said next, but I hope the person he was talking to heard it.

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Pt. 3 — Two Equally Important Reminders

“Smell the river, see the mountain peaks, just be that peaceful but joyful and happy Al.  Know, deep within your soul, that you’re real, that you’re a special being, and learn to know the real Al, the one that cares deeply and profoundly — even the one that knows despair and loneliness.  Most of all, learn to love the real Al, the special Al, the creative Al.  Learn to soar above the cosmos and be comfortable and at peace with a beautiful being.”

— letter from Gene W., October 2015

“Fuck them.”

— text from Lauren L., September 2024

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