What principles define how you live?
How I live. I suppose I could say I live within my means. That’s a good principle to have. That has a lot more to it though. What is truly living within your means? My bills are paid. But at the same time, I’ve spent a lot of money on tattoos this year. I’ve had 7 tattoo sessions in the past 8 months. I had the money for them. But probably could have spent that money on something more responsible and adult-like. Granted, you do have to be a legal adult to even get a tattoo. But wasn’t there a whole post the other day about feeling like a grown-up? And I most certainly do not.
What is a principle anyway? Google says it’s a “fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning”. Well, given that, I would say I have only a few basic principles for my life. They’re new. Haven’t had them for long, but they are very important to me now.
Funny, the first one reminds me of a line from an Eminem song on his new album. It goes, “If I think that shit, I’m gonna say that shit.” I don’t think this is good for everything. Sometimes you really do just need to keep your mouth shut. But in situations where I have a strong reaction to something, or even if I just have an opinion or want to say something, I’m going to say it. I’m getting better at saying things that I think. If you’re a new follower, that wasn’t always true for me. This voice of mine is now a basic principle. It’s a part of me. I’m never going to allow fear or intimidation silence me again.
Second principle, be a good person. Just be nice to people. Have patience as much as possible and try to see things from the other side. Granted, you can’t be nice all of the time and damn I have learned about my petty side lately. Being petty tickles me. I’m still a little bit in my “burn it to the ground” era. But the first and second principle are blending too, in that, I’m trying so hard to say those nice things I notice about strangers when I think them out in public. Because it’s a nice thing to do and I love how it makes me feel when people compliment me.
The last principle, I owe to the movie “Little Miss Sunshine”. That is definitely one of my favorite movies. When Dwayne is talking to Steve Carrell’s character at the end, he’s consoling himself about the fact that he’s color blind and won’t be able to fly jets like he wants. He was initially very upset when he found out. But then he says this:
He then says that if he wants to fly, he’ll find a way to fly. I feel the same way about doing what I love. That’s what I’m doing now. It’s all that matters. I’m spending my time reading and knitting and writing and getting tattoos and spending time with my husband and my dogs and watching tv shows and movies I haven’t seen and engaging with people online and listening to music and all the things that make me happy. What I’m not doing is worrying about work and what people think of me and stressing about what I look like and if what I’m wearing is appropriate for my age. Because like in the movie, fuck all of that. Those aren’t things I love, so I’m not entertaining them.
Three is a good number of principles to have. Anymore than that and it gets too complicated.
That’s my life…saying what I think and feel, being a good person, and doing what I love. And what a good life it is.
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