Here's What I Know Today

As my lovely friend Amy Ferris notes on Facebook every morning, here's what I know today:

1) Do not listen to your inner voice at four in the morning. It will make you cry. And you will text your friends and email your lovers and give your dogs concerned expressions and you will feel idiotic by eight.

2) Do not think there is any special prize for taking on more than your share of challenges. There is not. Nor will you be rewarded in heaven. Other people's problems aren't gauntlets. Nor are you Sir Walter Raleigh in a rainstorm. Jump in the effing puddle. Don't lay your coat in it.

3) If your plaintive cry is "I just want a lovely boyfriend who adores me. Period." then wear it proudly. One day a lovely boyfriend who adores you will show up and all will be well. Until then, fight the good fight with all your might.

4) Brush your teeth before you make your tea. If you don't, your 23 year-old son will wrinkle his nose at you. The dogs have better manners. These are things you learn when you live alone.

5) You can't save anyone. You can be their friend. You can listen. You can hold their hand and make them supper. You can walk with them. You can love them. But you can't save them. They are the only ones who can save themselves, so give up trying now.

6) If you do kundalini yoga, you can breathe good energy into them. You can think of a white light surrounding them and you can spread love into their aura. I'm not sure if any of it works, but it's a nice thought. And isn't abundance and love better than paucity and fear?

7) Stick to the path. Walk as if your life depends on it. One foot in front of another in a rhythm. Sing. Listen to the birds. Stop occasionally to see where the bird is singing from. But don't turn around. Don't doubt your path. Just keep marching forward. It's the momentum that will get you through.

8) Remember that we are all connected to each other. Every word you say is a pebble dropped into a pond and the ripples will continue to navigate outwards, effecting everything, changing everything. Therefore make sure you use kind words.

9) Avoid truffle cheese. It is the devil.