TAKING THE LONG VIEW

There are a trillion ways to look at the world, all of them as valid as the eyeballs used to do so. That said, when terrestrial push comes to philosophical shove, I’m a guy who likes taking the long view on things.

There’s always a ton of immediate shit to attend to, of course; the only thing more important than the last project is the new one, on and on till infinity.

But moving into my eighth decade on Earth, I can’t help admiring the gradual arcs that unfold. The historical context, far older than little old Skipp; and the future, far longer than little old Skipp will hang around to see. At least in THIS incarnation.

Insofar as I can tell, changes come in waves. Long cycles. Vast pendulum swings. The things I love grab their moments in the sun. Then the things I hate snare the upswing, get their shot at the win. To their immense dismay, shit swings back to where I like it. Then away again, to my immense dismay.

And so it goes, forever. Opposites attracting and repelling, forever at war.

After enough of that eternal back-and-forth, I’ve been forced to conclude that neither side can ever win forever. It’s a see-saw. A push-me pull-you. A perpetual motion machine, that keeps itself running by keeping us hoping that we’re ever gonna win.

So thinking in the long term right now, I guess all I want to say is that this, too, shall pass. Tenuous and terrifying or exciting and inspiring as your recent wins or losses might be, you’ll be feeling exactly the opposite in no time.

So do what you gotta do, because you have to. But just know WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS. Horrible things will happen. Wonderful things will happen. Both of them always do.

They don’t call this shit infinity for nothing.

And, amazingly, we are still here.