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Issues


Rules of Reality

Rule #1

Reality doesn't live up to the hype
by Tim Rutherford

 

It may seem that your life, your daily grind... seems routine. Mundane. Hypeless.

Truth is:

it is.

But.

I'm here to tell you mundane is good.
Boring can be good I swear.

Accept this life premise, and you can avoid a whole lot of misery.

Not having an accident on the way home...is good.
Not having your house catch fire...is good.
Not having a policeman ring your doorbell...is good.
Your son was there right on time. Good.

You encounter definitive events in your life. Your very own "drama". And drama comes in many varieties...fun and freewheeling, toilsome and wearying. Even the good stuff can wear you out.
Some events may exceed your expectations.
Unforeseen drama may bring heartache or loss.
Most days will be ordinary.
Celebrate ordinary.

Ordinary is not a bad thing.
Celebrate that you weren't on the news tonight.

You may be disappointed that the housefire three blocks over from you, wasn't on tonight's local TV news.
Be happy that it wasn't.

Because if it is, it means...I have paid a visit.
The media usually arrives to the scene, not because the situation got better...but because it got "worse"....that's why it has become news.
Our presence can spell bad news.
We're..."uh-oh's".
If you aren't expecting to see me tonight...you will probably not be in your welcome mode when you do.

But by a twist of fate, I might have to meet you tonight.
You may not be ready to meet me.
I'm a reality check.

Ready...aim...spotlight.

Bad news leads me.

Sure you're ready?

All I ask is: "Let the messenger escape please... if he delivers your nightmare."

And if the victims later recall that it all "seemed like a movie"...

I'll fend off the guilt...and be content that I was but, a bit player with no lines.

But I'm here to tell you that there is hope for us all.

Life's reality checks may especially disappoint, if you have succumbed to the allure, of a multi-generational media onslaught, of talking heads and exploding barrages of pap, aimed at accessorizing the life of the next trendseeker.

Don't buy the hype my friend.
Step back from the train.
You are setting the bar way too high,
if you think that the life of ET's latest hot couple
seems so much incredibly better than yours.

Everybody does mundane.
Your life may seem mundane. It is. Be thankful.

Mundane is good.
Ordinary is good.

Okay...low-end on the good scale...I grant you.
But good nonetheless.

Call it "incident-free".

We say: "No news ...is good news."

Because it's true.

Reality doesn't live up to the hype. Accept this.

The promo is almost always better than the piece.

Tim Rutherford


Comments in Forum

PHOTOGSPEAK
Photog's Lounge ForumThe new Photog's Lounge MessageBoard Forum has room for bitchin', revelations,laughing, and... did I say bitchin? Yeah...So go ahead...Whassup?

This guy has never taken a sick day!!

What the heck is wrong with him?? Find out in the Lounge.

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Clint Smith
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