read this if you believe it’s great to be alive. or if you don’t.
my favorite radio station in the whole world is 93.1 or 93XRT in chicago, as everyone calls it. i’ve been listening since i was in high school living the burbs of chicago. i continued listening all the way through my 20s and 30s living the single life in downtown chicago to streaming it for the past twelve years (INTO MY FREAKING 40’s!) down here in dallas.
i’m not going to go into how eclectic the music selections they play are – just trust that i have good taste. anyway, i grew up with lin brehmer. he’s on the morning show and ROF won’t be mad by me saying…. i love him. he’s genius, wonderful, funny and insightful. and i LOVE his signature “IT’S GREAT TO BE ALIVE” phrase he got from frank zappa. i wonder if lin knows someone in dallas thinks this about him. ha! hearing that reminds me to tell you that i truly – and maybe cheesily – think that IT’S GREAT TO BE ALIVE every single day. if you know me, you know that is true.
can you even comprehend for one single minute, sitting in a cafe enjoying a nice dinner – maybe it was impromptu – maybe it was planned for weeks – who cares. but you’re sitting there and a gunman enters and starts shooting off an automatic gun. like you, i’m sure, hearing about the events in paris rocked our world this weekend. you don’t have time to say goodbye. you don’t have time to “work on those things that you want to change.” that’s it. was it good? did you make every single day count?
sometimes i have to remind myself and my close friends that we have #firstworldproblems. that sometimes the things that SUCK really don’t SUCK at all. this is what having this mentality is all about. for example…. having a hard time at work? you’re not appreciated or maybe not being used to your capability? well, you’re getting a paycheck, you have a roof over your head and an opportunity to change your situation. so guess what – IT’S GREAT TO BE ALIVE! you’re upset that you’ve gained weight and clothes don’t fit and you’re depressed? well, if your legs work and you can walk – then IT’S GREAT TO BE ALIVE. so change it, dear.
i spent a lot of time with my dad when he was dying. every single day as a matter of fact. so, yes, many times your situation really does SUCK. dying of cancer SUCKs. but my dad for the nine months he lived after finding out he had cancer in his esophagus, then brain, then finally his spine is that he truly had the attitude of how knowing IT’S TO BE ALIVE. he used his last days on earth to hug life. to make wrongs right, to make us laugh, to squeeze my mom tight and tell her he loved her always, to encourage my sister, brother and i and to really embrace life.
he had the opportunity to do this where so many do not. he knew this.
if you ever need a reminder how great it is to be alive go here and do something about it. one of the best websites i’ve ever seen. ever. thanks JG for sending.
