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Appreciate: An Afternoon Comment Diversion

By Cindy Davis | Posted Under Comment Diversions | Comments (44)

Tim_Minchin.jpg

I was only this week introduced to the genius ramblings of Australian comedian, Tim Minchin (h/t KMJ) and in that particular piece, he asked a question that stuck with me. A question that I’m sure a lot of us have asked ourselves at one point or other: “Isn’t this enough? Just this…world? Just this beautiful, complex, wonderfully unfathomable, natural world?”

Regardless of whether one is religious or not, believes in an afterlife or not, we all have a tendency to forget how short this life is. We get caught up in the day to day, point out the faults in everything and everyone (including ourselves) and spend our time at this scathing and bitchy website. We foster our dark sides, letting the cynical override nearly all our emotions so we can point out the faults of movies, celebrities, politicians and even each other. I’m no shrink, but in a world where we often feel out of control—our planet seems ill-equipped to handle our abuses, failed economies and strife lurk around nearly every corner and Mother Nature stopped by to show us all who really is boss—cynicism is our hard, protective outer shell. As the people of Japan struggle to survive, some of us can donate time or money and others don’t know what to do. Some of us pray. Some of us hope. Some of us ignore. When I went to my yoga class Monday evening, the instructor did what a lot of yoga instructors do when disaster has struck: he asked us to dedicate our practice to the people whose lives have been turned upside down. Some people, religious or not, believe that putting out positive thoughts or energy can affect themselves and others. And so, what the heck—who knows if it works or not, it can certainly do no harm—we put that good energy out there.

At this point you’re probably wondering how this roundabout is leading to a comment diversion. Put together Tim Minchin’s thoughts on appreciating this life, in this world and the idea of positive thoughts or energy or prayer and take today to find something good in your life to keep in mind. Think about where you are and where you could be. I think at some point, we’ve all had someone give us a break or do something for us that made a difference in our lives. For me, it was a man who was not my biological father stepping in and fulfilling the role of not one, but both my parents. Without being too corny, I can honestly say that were it not for him, I would either be dead or in an alternate life bearing some resemblance to Trainspotting or Requiem for a Dream. More than once he got me out of a terrible situation and without doing everything for me, sent me in the right direction.

Who do you appreciate? Who made a change in your life? Who did something to help you along your way?









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Comments

My son is without a doubt the biggest influence on my life. Maybe I would have gotten my shit together and grown up by now if I hadn't had him, but most likely I would have hit prison first.

Posted by: Paultera at March 16, 2011 5:11 PM

I would have to say that I appreciate my friends. I'm not perfect, or even close, but despite my myriad flaws, they choose to love me anyway. That's the key - they choose to love me. They are the family that I've made for myself. Cliched? Yes. True? Also yes.

Their support and humor have gotten me through a lot of rough times and just make every day better in lots of small ways. I hope I do the same for them.

And then, of course, there's always tequila.

Posted by: noodlestein at March 16, 2011 5:19 PM

Oh, Jean Filkins, everyone knows that.

Posted by: Jay at March 16, 2011 5:21 PM

I'm always so busy composing my symphony of regret, I'm not sure I know how to shift from self-recrimination to thanking other people. I'll give it a ponder and see what I can come up with.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at March 16, 2011 5:27 PM

I've watched very little Tim Minchkin before but I need to be watching more. That clip was amazing.

Posted by: Paultera at March 16, 2011 5:28 PM

I am grateful for every morning, every day above ground, and every chance to read this little site.

Awesome piece.

Posted by: Moviefraud at March 16, 2011 5:46 PM

I have an amazing family and am blessed with great friends, but any time someone asks me what I'm thankful for, my first response is always "anti-depressants." I'm still here, ain't I?

But my life has been blessed by so many little acts of kindness and people taking chances on me, that I can hardly single one out.

And, because to me, it's not always rising to the occasion in times of great need (which always makes me happy to be part of humanity), but keeping it going in little ways when the struggle's not so glaring-in-the-face. So, in promotion of random acts of kindness: helpothers.org

Posted by: leuce7 at March 16, 2011 5:46 PM

My best friend, Veronica. She's this sweet little Catholic girl, we have practically nothing in common, but she's my rock, and she loves me unconditionally. When I was 20, and I was low, and I told her about something horrible that I'd done, she hugged me and said "I'll love you, no matter what."

And that's when I realized that this is probably the best friend I'll ever have. Eww, now I'm all misty.

Posted by: kate the great at March 16, 2011 5:47 PM

I appreciate my mom. She loves me even though sometimes I'm not as kind to her or helpful or grateful as I could be. When I'm needy, she's always willing to take care of me.

Posted by: MM at March 16, 2011 6:07 PM

I'd probably thank my college peers en masse. I was a big ball of hypersensitive arrogant neuroses, give or take, when I got to college at 17. Quite painfully at times, they taught me how to present who I am as guilelessly and openly as possible, and each year since then I've gained in self-awareness.

Posted by: Ian at March 16, 2011 6:16 PM

Tim Minchin's one of my favourites. (If you don't eat pig, and I don't eat pig, why not not eat pig together? - his take on the arab-jew conflict)

On topic, in our wedding vows, the ITGeek and I promised to respect, appreciate, listen to and forgive each other. They seemed like the big ones (love was a given).
Appreciating him is the easiest (he's awesome), but it also makes the other three promises easier to keep.

Posted by: ScienceGeek at March 16, 2011 6:17 PM

Friends.


::would love to elaborate but am busy crying::

Posted by: schmerpes at March 16, 2011 6:26 PM

My mom. She passed away almost 9 years ago now (fuck you cancer) and not a day goes by that I don't remember a truth she taught me or an encouraging word she said at one time or another. She was smart, sassy, funny, no bullshit and she's still my rock and foundation. She was an awesome lady and I hope that I'm doing her proud.

Posted by: Kristen at March 16, 2011 6:44 PM

My husband. Having someone who lets me be myself, truly and completely, has changed my life.

Posted by: Puckerby at March 16, 2011 6:51 PM

I've been lucky enough to have had the same group of girlfriends since approximately sixth grade (one I've known even longer) and even though we don't see each other as much now that high school (and college) are over, we're still a damn tight and loving group.

Posted by: badkittyuno at March 16, 2011 6:56 PM

I am so beyond blessed in my life that it sometimes takes my breath away. Family, friends, healthy kids, happy marriage, good job, significant possessions, etc. The only way I know how to make peace with how I can have so much and others so little is to always be mindful of my fortunes, never take them for granted, and give back whenever I can. Giving back takes many forms.

Posted by: katy at March 16, 2011 6:57 PM

My mother and my two older sisters. We're a close family and we're all full of imperfections but I don't know what I'd do without them. They know me better than anyone and know exactly what to say to make me feel better when I'm going through a shitty time (ie - these past few months).

Posted by: beckster at March 16, 2011 7:10 PM

My family, my girlfriend, and the National Health Service.

Posted by: frank_247 at March 16, 2011 7:11 PM

Besides my faith-which boils down for me to a very simple realization that there may in fact be Something Greater Out There than what I can see with my own eyes, and my belief that taking care of others-in whatever way I can-is a good way to live in general, whether Something Greater Out There is watching me or not, I have to say I am blessed by my pets (past and present).

Having living creatures dependent on you for their well-being and happiness, receiving unconditional love and loyalty in return-and years of laughter at quirky cat and dog antics makes me feel blessed, even when I clean the litter box.

Being with them as they age and die fills me with gratitude and awareness for life more than sadness at the ending of life.

Posted by: lil_a at March 16, 2011 7:15 PM

My friends, who like Ian up there, practically raised me in college and have been the witnesses to my life ever since.

My husband and daughter. I don't even have words for what they've done for me.

And then I'm back to friends. Sometimes I think we're here just to love each other and my friends prove that every day.

Posted by: Snuggiepants at March 16, 2011 7:27 PM

I'm always so busy composing my symphony of regret, I'm not sure I know how to shift from self-recrimination to thanking other people. I'll give it a ponder and see what I can come up with.

Posted by: Mrs. Julien at March 16, 2011 5:27 PM


Mrs. Julien that was brutally honest, I also think long and hard about my own regrets, at times they consume me. Sometimes hurt and sadness are the only things I feel.

Posted by: Pookie at March 16, 2011 7:32 PM

I am grateful for modern medicine and affordable healthcare.

No, seriously.

The only reason my mother is still around to see me grow up is because modern medicine is holding her up.
The only reason I am still here to struggle on is because I did not die from one of many relatively treatable, but debilitating diseases.

Life is fragile, people. One hormone out of whack, an infected tooth perhaps, all that can make your life hell or kill you in a matter of weeks.

Posted by: Amicus Diptus at March 16, 2011 8:19 PM

It's funny, I finally found a church I want to join because that gratefulness and conscious LIVING sentiment is at the core of all their beliefs and now it's everywhere.
I am grateful for a woman named Cathy who rescued me from my crazy and dangerous mother 3 days before my 9th birthday. It was the worst day of my mother's life and I feel bad for that, but Cathy saved me. If she hadn't, very bad things would have continued to happen to me and I doubt that I would be alive today.

Posted by: king at March 16, 2011 8:39 PM

Gosh, so many people.

My husband, for seeing the real me and loving me anyway.

My daughter, for trusting me so completely.

My sister, for being my friend even though she's much cooler than me.

I don't have many friends, but the ones I do have I love very much.

And my Pajiba friends, who I gossip with and snark with, make fun of and play around with, but who always seem to make my lonely days a little less lonely. And that is a blessing indeed.

Posted by: TWoP_Fan at March 16, 2011 9:21 PM

My best friend, for so many things, but most of all always being there when I need her.

My husband, for still loving me, even if I am insane.

The delightful people I've met through this place. I can't think of a better bunch of people on the internet or the planet.

Posted by: Melody at March 16, 2011 9:39 PM

So many people to list. My husband for putting up with me and loving me because Lord knows I'm probably not easy to live with every day. My daughter for being an easy-going and happy baby. My parents and in-laws for being awesome grandparents. Our priest for knowing how to talk to children and adults at the same time without talking down or talking over anyone's head. My friends Blonde Savant and Trouble, who started out as Pajiba friends and became my RL friends, who have been so awesome through all the recent changes in my life. My friend Sam for sharing her experience as a young working mother and for sharing her baby and kid items with me. Without every single one of these my life would be much more difficult and much less happy.

Posted by: stardust at March 16, 2011 9:57 PM

My husband, for being a rockstar, a ninja and head chef, but mostly for talking me off the ledge far more often than I'd like to admit.

For my dog for being a sweet gentle giant puppy, and for howling/talking at me if I am being too lazy.

For everyone else in my life. You're all amazing. All for different reasons. And I am lucky to know you.

Posted by: Tits McGee at March 16, 2011 10:20 PM

...i was going to say my friends, but that seems taken. i'd say family, but mine doesn't seem to particularly get me or care what i do either way. i'd say my job and a roof over my head, but one barely pays the bills and the other is one of those bills that's a bit behind. but at the end of the day, i'll say i'm thankful i at least got the opportunity to wake up and see the day through, whatever it may or may not involve. and, of course, i am eternally thankful for cheap vodka, and for living with my boyfriend's cat, who happens to be the coolest feline ever. no, seriously. he plays fetch and can sit and lets me scratch his belly whenever i'm feeling craptacular, and makes me smile when nothing else in the world can. so there's that.

Posted by: betsy at March 16, 2011 10:22 PM

It sounds immodest, but I have to give my own self some kudos. I've got a lot of years on me, and my life has been filled with difficulties: I used to suffer from debilitating panic attacks before anyone really knew what they were (and was therefore convinced that I was not-so-slowly losing my mind.) And although I didn't know what OCD was earlier in my life, I always knew there was something really "special" about me; there still is. Then there were kidney stones (yes, plural), prostate cancer, and so much more. I won't even mention my (mis)adventures in love, including finding my soul mate 2,000 miles from home and letting her slip through my fingers. Frankly, it would have been easy to call it a life when the panic attacks were at their worst many years ago and I didn't know if I could go to my college classes, much less do well and graduate, but it was never really an option, because I refuse to give up. And THAT I owe principally to my family. My mom and dad raised 8 kids, and while we've all had our issues over the years, all of us eventually turned out pretty well. We're always there for each other, and that is a blessing that one shouldn't take for granted. I also have nieces and nephews who love me and like to spend time with me because I don't treat them like children, and they give me hope for the future even as YouTube shows how monumentally stupid so many young people are.

So yeah, my family made me tough and for that I am eternally grateful.

Posted by: Uriah Creep at March 16, 2011 10:29 PM

Oh, and scotch. Scotch rules!

Posted by: Uriah Creep at March 16, 2011 10:32 PM

Beer.

But I disagree with the idea that "life's too short." For many, many people babbling to themselves and sitting in a puddle of urine at some cheap-ass nursing home, life has gone on way too fucking long. Thanks for that extended lifespan, AMA. You've help millions of people live long enough that they don't know who they are or who YOU are, sis and brother, or what day it is, or where they are.

Hope I die before I get old.

Posted by: , at March 16, 2011 10:47 PM

Agreed with the too long a lifespan, sometimes. My line of work sees the old and feeble, living in shithole nursing homes abandoned by family, but also those awesome 94 year olds that still have a garden and bake cookies. I appreciate my patients; they show me both sides of the coin daily. I get to be with people as they pass, give birth, as they lie there broken as they trust you to help them. It's powerful. I also get to see the worst of humanity and that helps me stay thankful for what I have and focused on what I love.

Posted by: ZombieMedic at March 16, 2011 11:43 PM

I got really, really lucky in the family department. They aren't perfect, obviously, and there have been times when they've hurt me far more than I think they realize, but overall my mom, dad and sister are three of the best people I know on the planet and my nephew is one of the few kids in my life that doesn't use up my very limited kid-patience stores (I like kids well enough, it's just that they tend to make me kinda tired, so I start to lose patience after awhile.).

Posted by: lumenatrix at March 17, 2011 12:32 AM

MINCHIN LOVE!

We are both straight but he is still in my Free Five. The man combines freakish musicality, lyrical genius, comedic chops (verbal and physical) with thoughts that I wish I had come up with first. He is both a totally over-gifted bastard and my personal hero.

I guess you could say I appreciate Tim Minchin.

I'm also grateful for a stack of other who's and whats:
-family, honorary family & friends
-a triple digit IQ,
-living in an era with access to the most extraordinary collection of human knowledge and experiences ever compiled
-living in an era with access to the most extraordinary collection of human beings ever assembled (along with the occaisional pocket of dickheads
-hurt when it teaches
-love when it heals
-cliches when I run out of ideas

The trick is to remember it when life drops a flaming bag of something soft, lumpy and malodorous on my doorstep.

Posted by: Dave Shepherd at March 17, 2011 1:13 AM

What's getting me through just now are my tickets to see Tim Minchin tomorrow night...

Posted by: general rhubarb at March 17, 2011 1:15 AM

General rhubarb, you lucky, lucky, lucky...

Assuming you're local: ABC2, Sunday 27th March 8.30. Concert in full

Posted by: Dave Shepherd at March 17, 2011 1:35 AM

Almost 40 and life absolutely sucks right now, at its so-called, presumed "peak". People have mostly just fucked it up the best they could whenever I've let them in. Who can I mention, then? If it were not for a spectacular woman who has known me from the very moment I was born, I'd be about four times off and out as of now.

I tell you, life is way too long.

For the ones who never got it: right now I can only be that guy who got stepped on by the giant mutated lizard. "What's a red blot on Tokyo's asphalt? Godzilla foil, nice to meet you".

Posted by: godzilla_foil at March 17, 2011 3:41 AM

I'll second/third/fourth/whatever friends cause I sure as hell would've self-destructed somewhere along the way without them.
But before I had friends to lean on I had books. No matter how bad things get, I can always lose myself in a good story. Some call it escapism, but for me it provides a welcome breathing / dreaming time, giving me a necessary distance and always helpful food for thought.

Posted by: cinekat at March 17, 2011 5:15 AM

Chief Ralph....

I was in a real bad...BAD place and was a functioning alcoholic at the age of 22. He simply sat me down and talked to me. Pretty much the only supervisor, during my entire six year enlistment, that noticed I was in serious trouble, and took the time to address it. He didn't yell, didn't send me up to NJP (which is the normal response), he just listened.

I can, in all honesty, say that he saved my life.

Posted by: Diablo at March 17, 2011 7:26 AM

I am grateful for my friends, far and near
to my family tho I dislike all of them
to all the books and authors that taught me something
& to The Universe for every difficult lesson I've struggled (and continue to struggle) to learn, and also for every joy that's come my way, and the joy still to come.
Oh! And health insurance. I'd be completely screwed if not for that.

Posted by: Chickaboom at March 17, 2011 9:51 AM

I've met Minchin. A few times.( I was a stalkeresque fan until about 18 months ago when my fellow show attender could no longer travel with me) He's brilliant, lovely, hilarious and a genius. And not very tall.

Posted by: Nadine at March 17, 2011 2:02 PM

Consider some time to review the positive issues about the day and keep searching for the various answers to probably the most puzzling problems. I discovered that every day meditation and a lengthy stroll every day assists me to resolve the tough issues.

Posted by: Berry Szwed at March 23, 2011 7:57 PM

sounds immodest, but I have to give my own self some kudos. I've got a lot of years on me, and my life has been filled with difficulties: I used to suffer from debilitating panic attacks before anyone really knew what they were (and was therefore convinced that I was not-so-slowly losing my mind.) And although I didn't know what OCD was earlier in my life, I always knew there was something really "special" about me; there still is. Then there were kidney stones (yes, plural), prostate cancer, and so much more. I won't even mention my (mis)adventures in love, including finding my soul mate 2,000 miles from home and letting her slip through my fingers. Frankly, it would have been easy to call it a life when the panic attacks were at their worst many years ago and I didn't know if I could go to my college classes, much less do well and graduate, but it was never really an option, because I refuse to give up. And THAT I owe principally to my family. My mom and dad raised 8 kids, and while we've all had our issues ov

Posted by: off the shoulder wedding dress at April 5, 2011 6:08 AM

Great bloggers do not react defensively but understand that criticism is a great opportunity to determine if change is needed or if the criticisms are just negative opinions.

Posted by: Kroener at April 15, 2011 2:32 AM