Life Doesn’t Care

Life is always taking a swing at us.

No matter what we’re doing, what we’re feeling, it always stands behind the curtain, waiting to catch us off guard.

It’s not always sadness waiting around the corner; it can also be excitement, satisfaction, or a myriad of other positive vibes.

But no matter what “vibe” life throws at us, dealing with it is another matter.

Yesterday my chocolate lab herniated a disc in her back. Who would have thought she could do that? She’s in perfect shape, loves running and swimming, and is of the run-run-run variety. Well, somewhere in all that running, she messed up one of her discs. A quick run to the vet got her medications and crate rest for four weeks.

One minute running and fetching and happy just to run around in the yard with us. The next, semi-paralyzed back legs, curled tail, whining, and pain. Lots of pain.

This can happen to people as well as our furry friends. And, as we get older, pulls and falls are much more in the scope of reality than ever before. 

Life doesn’t care.

Life doesn’t care about your pain, your bad luck, your body falling apart. It doesn’t differentiate between cancer and car accidents, between colds and Covid. 

There seems to be a payback for beautiful sunsets and primeval woods and flowing rivers and fields of bright flowers. It feels like there’s always a price to pay for love and companionship, for satisfaction and achievement.

Maybe “payback” is a bad choice of words. Life is not punishing you for being happy — it’s just letting you know to beware — there is always another side to the coin. A yin to the the yang and all that.

Life moves forward, whether you want it to or not. That moment of nirvana cannot last forever. Nor can the pain of inconsolable grief. 

We have to let both flow through us, around us. Like the river constantly flowing around the boulder, we have to BE that river, ebbing and rushing and sometimes still as night, flowing around obstacles that are immovable.

I am hoping puppy will be better in due time. I am hoping you will be better in due time. Just take the good and bad, the ups and downs, feel them and then let them flow away.

Remember — there’s still a lot of life out there waiting to take a swing at you.