i'm gonna wax poetic. mostly because.. well, solely because, it's my blog. i've had an epiphany in the last 24 hours.
See Fight Club:
"Everywhere I travel, tiny life. Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They're single-serving friends."
If you don't get the point now, you never will....
Then there are my friends with a Two Week Shelf Life.
It's not that we make buddy buddy, dance our dance and then float separate ways like dandelion seeds in the wind. That would be... pointless.
Each of these friends shares a common point in my life. Each one represents a period of time or a story. Some are comedies, some are dramas, some are horrors, some are action, maybe even a couple of romances in there. Each one is important. Each one shapes you to who you are today. Be it good or be it bad, each one of these friends influenced you at some point in your life be it early developmental, teenage, college, or the life after.
There are so many of these people out there...
how do you keep track of them all? the internet, cell phones, social networking.. blah blah blah....is actually pretty handy for that. I've caught up with friends around the country I've not talked to in ages! You get back in touch with these people that were important at some point in your life and you correspond, usually briefly then go your separate ways once more. It's not because you don't care about that person, but your lives aren't on the same path they once were. That person is still important, but they're just not a priority at the moment.
Prioritizing friends...
isn't that a bitch? It sounds so selfish and conceited, but it's true. Each one of these friendships is a relationship. Actually everything we do in life is based on relationships. Work, Play, Love, the places we shop, the places we hang out, the clothing we buy... all relationships. I guess the question is how many relationships do you have room in your life for? How many of these relationships can you maintain at the same time without putting someone up on the shelf until you either need them again, you happen to run into each other, or it's convenient for both of you??? That's where the two week shelf life comes in. That's how long you last before you're 'tossed aside.'
It's not who's important and who's not.
Not that easy. Look me in the eye and tell me the people in your past aren't important and I'll call you a liar. Lie to yourself all you want, but keep me out of it. It's more about who's important RIGHT NOW, right? You're not looking for Mr./Mrs. Right... you're looking for Mr./Mrs. RIGHT NOW. We want things cheap, fast, and easy. It's the American Way. Relationships are work and nobody likes to work. How much work can one person really accomplish in a day? I can tell you exactly how much. About 24 Hours worth... but you have to remember to sleep, then you should really eat sometime... I mean that Kate Moss / Euro-Heroin Sheik look isn't in right now.... It's finding the time. What is your time worth. WHO is your time worth??? You might appreciate it more when you notice you don't have any.
It's a balancing act.
We can all balance it to some degree, but if you ask me to get up on a tight rope you have something coming to you. I'll give you a hint... it involves kitchen utensils, an Eggplant, and some pain. What happens when your act gets out of balance? We damage those relationships we had in place, we dull them. Sometimes it's work... sometimes it's school... we're too busy doing what we have to do to keep up with what we want to do... we're changing relationships and changing lanes, one in place of another. We're prioritizing, like it or not.
So I must admit, to the friends out there, and on here that I've not forgotten you... or the times we had, the times we will have, and the times we've forgotten that we had. Gotta love pictures for that.
there a handful of you that we hardly ever talk anymore, but you're some of the most important and influential people I've ever known. They're doing their own things at their own pace. Perhaps some of our values, schedules, and priorities have changed. Who knows. We put each other on the shelf until we can take each other down, dust each other off, and pick up where we left off, but we're still very important to one another. I'm that person to someone else I'm sure. I can't knock people I haven't talked to for not talking to me, after all... I only have a two week shelf life.
And that's all I gotta say about that....
and then there's the group that i am privileged to know, able to be in contact with, and have nights that turn into the stories that will be told over and over, with the same laughs, same groans, same eye rolls.. for years to come. that group is growing... rapidly, intensely, and excitingly. crazy that after all this time, you ALL.. old and new friends... are pieces in the puzzle of my life. you all touch each other either directly, or indirectly. i can't explain how much you all mean to me. i love you all.... eye rolling and everything.
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