Catastrophe of Life

Reading an on line review of a John Mellencamp concert the other day I came across a song lyric that was cited by the writer...

“I’ve been married two dozen times
Raised 10 children on a workman’s pay
And I’m glad to say I’ve enjoyed every day
Of the full catastrophe of life”

Me being me thought it was worthy of some google search to see what I could see because that last line struck me as important somehow. That search lead me to a quote from the movie Zorba the Greek 

"Am I not a man? And is a man not stupid? I'm a man, so I married. Wife, children, house, everything. The full catastrophe." 

I'm guessing John took his inspiration for this song from this movie, this very quote. And I'm taking my inspiration for this post from them both....except I don't know what it is that I'm thinking about, why this is somehow worthy of extra thought. When I walked out of the movie theatre with my ex wife after watching Cloud Atlas I was thinking the same way...I saw or heard something important just now. I don't know why but I need to follow up on it. She hated it. We were separated two weeks later....and to be clear, it wasn't the movie that did in my marriage. Other stuff figures more...maybe I'll write about that one day...hmmmmmm But I digress, I'm processing the full catastrophe of life as I write so if I sound like gibbering gibbon please forgive me.

One of the definitions of the word catastrophe is as follows "a momentous tragic event ranging from extreme misfortune to utter overthrow or ruin" as opposed to what you may usually think of when someone says catastrophe. Such as what a catastrophe it would be if Donald Drumph won the election or that meteor hitting the earth 65 million years ago was a catastrophe. Not so subtle connecting of Drumph and an event that probably wiped out the dinosaurs along with a whole host of life forms...just saying. But again, taking the whole of those quotes one may come away with an appreciation of the fact that while life may be a catastrophe it doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad thing. The tragedy in life is that we as main characters all die...one of the certainties in life is our inevitable deaths so yes, a tragedy...a catastrophe. 

Having this knowledge, as we all do, what we choose to do with every day in the lead up is what forms our perception of what kind of catastrophe our lives really are. Are you happy bro? Despite what may have happened to you do you enjoy your life? Live abundantly? I try to and mostly I succeed...I'm a pretty happy guy and rarely let the negative crap around me dictate my whole life. It really is too short for that kind of garbage....and for bad wine. So drink good wine. And look for hope and for positivity...seems simple right?

This journey that we all take is full of smaller side road trips that help to form part of that whole journey. Because you dated this person these things happened and most likely would not have happened if you had dated that other person. Taking that much needed vacation to Cuba, while excellent did open doors which when walked through eventually led to my divorce. Cuba didn't do it but I can trace a line back to some of the contributing factors on why I am currently divorced and possibly annulled.....yeah, that came through last week. I'll have something to say about that soon...don't you worry. But, and this is the important part...I'm happy, not because I am divorced but in spite of that fact. The catastrophe of life can still make for happy times...it's how you approach and react to your circumstances. Put another way...choose to be happy and then work towards being just that.

I don't want to come across as Dr Phil....this is for me and me alone. Much like this blog actually. But since I have a few people reading, hello Russia, it may come across as me telling you to act one way or another...which couldn't be further from the truth. Remember my motto? No, not "break everything"...although....what I meant this time around was "you do you and I'll do me". I bet I have more than one motto.....hmmmmm.

Not as disjointed as I thought. Maybe, just maybe I'm more coherent then I give myself credit for.....hahahaha, I couldn't even type that without laughing about it.

Thanks for listening....or reading.

Ciao
D