the sweet life

Not too long ago, I had dreams of buying a small piece of land somewhere in the middle of Alaska. You know, the place where there would be no one around for miles and miles... I'd build a tiny cabin with the wood from the land, have a nice sized garden to grow our own vegetables and have supplies flown in once a month. The freezer would be full of fish that I had caught and meat that I had hunted. I'd spend my days chopping wood to heat our home, reading good books and being grateful for not having to deal with the stress that comes with living a life surrounded by...well...people.

You see...I am not really a people person. That might surprise you, but I am way too sensitive for this world. I am not like you who can let things roll off their shoulders so easily. What people say just sits with me and often times, I have a hard time letting things go. I like to think I am a good read of people, but often times I am not. I like to think that I have insulated myself from this world enough to protect myself, but I haven't. People continually surprise me and make me reconsider that sweet little cabin in the middle of Alaska.

But every once in awhile, a few good people come into your life that make you exhale. That make living this life worth every precious breath we take. That make it seem more bearable. More tolerable. More beautiful. And if you're lucky enough to have experienced this, it's not to be taken lightly. The solid folks who take a genuine interest in you, as a person. The ones that have your back for no other reason then because that is just what you do in this world. The ones that can see things more clearly when you can't. The ones that might not have all the answers, but won't abandon you when you don't either.

Yeah...those kind of people.

I am grateful to have some of these friends in my life, because, well, let's be honest...life is hard. It's messy...and sometimes the connections you have are the only things that will get you through the temporary shit that you happen to be experiencing.

I'd like to tell you that everything is going to be OK. That everything happens for a reason. That when people treat you poorly, it has more to do with them than it does with you...and all of that might be true...but i imagine it doesn't help you right now. But what might help are the people around you. The ones that you want to push away when everything else is falling apart. The ones that seem easy to verbally throw up on because they are right there with you...maybe not in the exact way that you want them to be...but they are there. And for that, I am always grateful.

I am happy I have had enough sense to close certain chapters in my life. I imagine you are too. I am happy that I can write new ones that are based on lessons I have learned and situations I want to avoid. And I am happy I have friends to remind me of this whenever I seem to forget.

Keep those ones close.

But really...that cabin in Alaska...who's in?