Changes in the Fishtank of Life

 Have you ever looked at the bottom of a fishtank? I mean really looked, past all the beautiful fish swimming about, at the bottom.

The disgusting, yucky, fish poop-filled bottom.

Gross right?

But then you look at the middle,  and you're reminded why there even is a fishtank in the first place. Because its beautiful. The various species of sea life, all in one little tank.

Clown fish, sea anemones, rocks, and various plant life all contained in one tank. A miniature ocean, with thousands of different organisms being represented in one place. Its amazing.

Much like life, everything about a fishtank appears beautiful at first glance. Colorful, serene, calm. But as you take a closer look, you see whats really going on. Its disgusting. Its nasty. And its life. You just have to learn to clean up after yourself, and move on. It takes time, tears, and a lot of work.

Just know that when you set your mind to it, you can and will do anything. Because you're capable of anything. You are stronger than anything life throws at you. You'll make it through. It will get better. But don't live in remorse. You're decision is yours, and you should stick with it. Once you cross the border of Mexico, its a lot harder to get back than it was to get there (especially if you were in the back of some crazy persons car, but thats another story for another time).

In water, fish are very graceful. Gliding along on the bottom on the beautiful Briney sea, they're almost majestic-like. But the moment you take those fish out of water, they become a flopping mess. No longer the graceful creatures we saw beneath the surface, but shown for what they really are. A fish.

If you leave a fish out of water for too long, it will die. The only way to save it is to put it back. Back into its natural habitat is the only place it will survive. A fresh water trout will not survive in the ocean, much like a sea bass wont survive in a river or pond.

Now why am I teaching Fish 101? Not because I actually know the difference between a bass and a trout, but because it makes for one heck of an analogy. When you're a fish taken out of water, you die. End of story. But when you're a human and things abruptly change, you can adapt. You can survive. You may think that it'll break you, but you know that in the long run, its for the better. It makes you stronger.

Change is a good thing. It makes us stronger.

Development is a good thing. It makes us wiser.

Progress is a good thing. It takes us father.

But in order to move forward, sometimes you have to look back. Look back on your past, and assess the damages. Why dont we do that now? Go on, revist you past. I can wait....

What about this crazy weather we've been having, huh? Its like the desert. Cold at night, boiling humidity in the day. And baseball. Baseball season, eh? Yeah...Baseball.

I have a lot of boxes in that rift....

....Okay we're back. Did you do it? Did you revisit your past? What did you find? I found all my mistakes, my bad memories, and burned bridges. Now that you've found all those, put them in a box. And shove that box in the deepest, darkest place you can find. Your closet, under your  bed, in a rift in the time-space continuum....You get the picture.

The point I'm trying (and hopefully succeeding) to make here is this: Out of sight, out of mind. You shouldn't still be kicking yourself for that mistake you made yesterday, anymore than the one you made back when you were in the 6th grade. Because to eff-up is human. We're supposed to screw everything up to the point to where we think we'll never see the light of day again, because we've dug our grave THAT DEEP. But then, something happens. And miraculously, we fix it all. Maybe not back to the way it was. Maybe worse. Maybe better. But things can be fixed.

There comes a time in everyones life, when you have to let go of your past. Of all the baggage you've got stowed away in that overhead compartment, so much so, that the air marshals are planing a take-down. What people so often fail to see, is that by holding on to all that baggage, it's just slowing you down. It's taking away from all the joy you could be having. It's suckling away at your life source, and killing you, bit by bit. To there comes a time when you must loose it in customs, and pray to God that the airport doesn't return it 6 years later.

What was I talking about again? I got too caught up in the analogies.

Oh yes, the baggage.

Cut off the dead arm. It's no longer helping you. Its a hindrance. Once you do, you'll be free. Nothing will be able to hold you back. The world is your oyster. Find that pearl. And so forth.