'Sall about Valiconnectolutions, man!

Cheryl and I saw the movie Boyhood a few weeks back.  A really great movie.  Made me change my whole philosophy of life.  

Hmmm…I just went back to my past 2 or so years’ worth of posts and it turns out I may have never posted my original Philosophy of Life (POL).

OK, maybe not my original original POL, which was probably more centered on the need for a bottle and my dipe to be changed…

OK (3^rd digression)…it can be argued that I still have a need for the occasional bottle, though the contents have presumably changed.

But back to the first digression and my most recent POL which is…was…that life is all about Validation. We all need it…we all crave it. We never seem to get enough of it and similarly, and maybe more importantly, we never give enough of it.

(My sister Judy believes that it’s all about Evolution, which I don’t entirely disagree with either, if one thinks it through.)

But after watching Boyhood, which may have simply struck me at just the right time, I will add to Validation, that it’s also all about Connections. We all need to connect with people more often that we do…or at least more often than I do, no matter how much we all piss each other off from time to time. We are always better, we always grow, the more often we connect with each other, both in terms of new connections and reconnecting with or just strengthening old connections.

(I have to admit this doesn't seem as life-changing an observation as it did when I first made it, which may have had something to do with the 2 cosmopolitans I'd sucked down across the street from the theatre before going in.)

The other impact the movie had on me is the re-affirmation of my belief that we are in charge of, and arguably in control of, our own densities…excuse me, destinies. And no matter how lousy our life has been, no matter how terrible our boss is (mine is definitely not) or our parents are or were (mine definitely were not) or what life’s circumstances have thrown our way, we can and absolutely have to overcome it. (Excuse me if I start sounding like a Republican here).

That doesn’t mean it’s easy. It not true of every human. 3-months old can’t. People in drought-stricken, war-savaged, oppressed countries have limited opportunities to improve their lives, at least not in the same way those of us lucky enough to have been born into a first world country can, but they can still focus on the important things…altogether now…validating each other and making and strengthening more connections.

And to think when we were in high school, senioritis meant something completely different, and that was only a few short years, or was it decades ago, I forget in my old age.

My impression is that Happy Hours are to us Baby-Boomers what Early Bird Specials were to Senior Citizens.

Of course more and more, boomers actually are senior citizens. Ugh.

Couldn't it at least have been given to the needy instead of throwing it out?!

I think it's a disgrace that my tax dollars pay for using sex suits in prison!

Jury throws out sex suit against Chesco Prison

                  By Michael P. Rellahan

http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20140805/jury-throws-out-sex-suit-against-chesco-prison

And now some activist judge has come along to throw it out.

You tell her, Taylor!

I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff, and maybe not just because it involves Taylor Swift:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/24/taylor-swift-love-advice-young-fan_n_5617766.html

Copying from the HuffPo link here now:


Taylor Swift just made one of her young fan's dreams come true.

Hannah, aka @sherbetswift, took to Instagram to ask her idol for some love advice earlier this week, and the 24-year-old singer-songwriter responded with what might be the most sincere message ever written.

Hannah's original post read:

There’s a guy Taylor, a guy who’s sweet and charming and makes me laugh. A guy who said sorry for eating in front of me after finding out I had to skip breakfast. A guy who grew up across the street from me. A guy who plays guitar like me. A guy who was my first best friend. A guy who I met when I was seven and he was nine. A guy who this one time, when we were younger, said that I was ‘like’ his girlfriend because I was a girl and his friend. I wish. A guy who I have the biggest crush in the whole wide world on, and he’ll never like me back. (And he has a girlfriend who he adores and she’s pretty and has an amazing figure and is actually nice to me). A guy who will never like me back. @taylorswift can you give me some advice maybe. I love you. Hannah.

 And here's Swift's response (get ready to tear up):

Hannah. Eyes, eyes, eyes. Woah. You have the prettiest, widest, most child like eyes. (Composes herself) Okay. About this guy. I think we grow up thinking the only love that counts as true love is the kind that lasts forever or is fully realized. When you have a broken heart, the first thing a stranger will ask is ‘how long were you two together?’ As if your pain can be determined by how long you were with someone. Or if you were with them at all. I don’t think that’s how it works. I think unrequited love is just as valid as any other kind. It’s just as crushing and just as thrilling. No matter what happens in this situation, I want you to remember that what you are doing is selfless and beautiful and kind. You are loving someone purely because you love them, not because you think you’ll ever have your affections reciprocated. You are admiring something for its beauty, without needing to own it. Feel good about being the kind of person who loves selflessly. I think someday you’ll find someone who loves you in that exact same way.

 

Hannah was clearly surprised Swift replied to her post, writing back to her, "You have no idea how much this means to me, thank you. You understand and that means so much. I feel like you’re the big sister I don’t have. Thank you, I really did need to hear that from you.”

YUP. Just another reason to adore Miss Taylor Swift.

So, no, I did not write that last sentence...but I could have...and yeah, tear up I did.