What Johann and Joe Said

I think it was this past Friday, out on one of these real long walks I’ve been taking twice a day the last couple of weeks, a thought came to me, each word clear in my head, the thought resonating through my entire being – soul and all.

It was this: “Give all my energy and love and devotion to the people who are supporting and encouraging me” I know that’s exactly the thought because I was close to what is still my home and ran in and grabbed this old notebook which I’ve been using to write what feel like inspirations during coffee time in the early morning, and wrote that thought verbatim. There’s nearly four pages filled so far with those early thoughts, there’s self-advice, To Do’s and musts, and the this be your life now, Brah, statements of fact.

Implicit in the give all my energy thought, I hope, because it’s crystal clear to me, is giving every smidge of my energy, love, and devotion to my encouragers means not one iota of attention or nano-second left for the discouragers. Not one moment.

Here’s an example. Suppose I go over to my Facebook page right now, Wednesday afternoon from the basement, and joyously share that today, within the reality of my marriage broken, the air sucked out of my universe, technically homeless in a few weeks, in the midst of those emotions and tears and facts, I’m posting that, with nowhere to go, I have decided to live pretty much a lifelong dream and so I’m going to move to San Francisco. Worked there almost two years, but never lived. I never would have imagined this reality, my life right now, but here it is, so that’s what I’m going to do.

An hour after posting eight people have replied.

This from the first seven – “Are you kidding?”; “You can’t be serious.”; “Do you realize how expensive San Francisco is?”; “You’re living on social security and that’s it and you think you can move to Frisco?”; “More typical Buddy delusional thinking.”; “There’s no way that will ever happen.”; “Are you fucking crazy?”

Then the eighth person chimes in – “That’s totally far out, Dude. Man, that city has your name all over it, The Beats, the Airplane, the Haight. The ocean. Bro, I can already see you sitting in some Market Street coffee shop, that goofy grin on your face, joyful in just getting another day, never mind that day’s in San Francisco by the way. Buddy I can see you strolling, no, Brah, I see you skipping down the path through Crissy Field, I know you love it there, look, there’s Alcatraz, there’s the Golden Gate right fucking in front of you. My man! And you know what? I got you Bro. I got you. I’m there for you. I’ll help.”

The first seven people won’t exist in the world for me. They just don’t. This is me, Wednesday the 28th, saying I will love with all my heart the people who tell me I can, and give no more of my time to those who want to convince me I can’t. I’m past my 72nd birthday. I’m about to be homeless. I just can’t afford it. I cannot waste the time.

Oh – the headline to this post. Let me quote from a couple of cats who have been zooming around within the world wind of my life long and rather sweetly now. I, for sure, can see them hanging with reply-er number eight.

“Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” – Johann Goethe

“It is miraculous. I even have a superstition that has grown on me as the result of invisible hands coming all the time – namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.” – Joseph Campbell

Think what you want. Rebounding off a supernaturally painful breakup and bouncing into something so stupid. Perhaps. You might say that. But if you do, I won’t be listening. I’ll be over there, just right over there, with the “Yes” guy. Trading dreams. Trading lemons for sparkling water.

(P.S. People who live in San Francisco don’t dig their city being referred to as “Frisco.” Used as negative people language example only.)