
I donāt know about you, but lately, me and some friends have been hooked on a feeling. And not the good kind.
Maybe itās early-onset Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Or maybe itās the Election (Red, White, and) Blues.
Whatever it is, there seems to be a collective sense of āmehā and misery hanging in the air (today and tonight). You know, that restless, stuck-in-a-rut vibe that can drown you unless youāre able to dance or doggy-paddle fast enough.
Iāve been trying to channel that 1990s Ooga Chaka Baby energy. Remember that little guy? He always put a smile on my face back then... and still does today. Oh, to be that happy and sappy! If only I were made of pixels and frames instead of flesh and bone, it might be easier.
But I am what I am. Yet, is that all that I am?
Everywhere I turn, there are constant reminders that I need to be positive, do more, try harder, and work smarter. The weight of it allāmostly from supposed āexperts,ā āgurus,ā and āpunditsāāmakes me want to scream.
All I want is to create more content that celebrates history and love.
Truly. Thatās. All. I. Want. To. Do.
As for the so-appointed experts, gurus, and pundits, thereās always someone eager to sell you their ānew and improvedā snake-oil.
The secret to their success is getting people to pay for advice on how to live, how to think, how to vote, and how to work. From what I've seen, most of these salesmen donāt know muchāand yet I still fall for their pitches more often than Iād like to admit.
Their pitches usually end up in bitches, glitches, and/or stitches.
One-size-fits-all, do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do advice isnāt helping anyone. In fact, itās part of the problem, not the solution. All those productivity hacks and "tips-and-tricks" to manifest a better life? They give me a headacheāand send me straight for the aspirin.
And the constant flood of canvassers, celebrities, politicians, and pollsters trying to tell me who to vote for? No thanks. Already voted. Now get off my lawn and out of my email and messages before I file a restraining order.
For the record, if there are any undecided voters left, I have no idea whatās going to sway them. Maybe this ālimited-editionā mugshot trading card from my least-favorite convicted felon?
āNever surrender!ā huh? The con, grift, and struggle are real.
Mighty real and mighty āreality tvā too.
My solution? Make more montagesāfor both Substack and YouTube. And focus on the good vibes from the majority of kind folks who enjoy my work. And try to ignore the vocal minority of negative ninnies.
Misery may love company, but I sure donāt love misery.
I barely tolerate itā¦even in myself.
As I see it, the real issue is that most advice doesnāt consider the nuances of our daily lives or personal circumstances. Not everyone has the time for morning pages or even meditations. Not everyone can afford life coaches or mental health professionals. Not everyone wants to be a Type-A productivity machine or believes every emotion needs to be āhackedā into something positive.
The truth is, trying to force myself out of this mood by following the latest guruās advice or repeating ācheer upā mantras doesnāt really help. And yet, I find myself sharing it with my nears, dears, and queers, hoping it will work for them. And Iām hopeful it will.
I want to believe in the quick fixes, because the alternativesāmaking progress slowly-if-unsurely or sinking into the quicksandādoesnāt sound like much fun either. Sure, a positive outlook helps, but forcing a fake smile only works for so long. Eventually, you have to figure outāusually on your ownāwhat actually makes you want to dance with (or without) somebody again.
Some days, youāre just going to feel stuck. Thatās life, right?
To me, one-size-fits-all advice fails because weāre not all the same. Our moods arenāt the same. Our lives arenāt the same. Some of us are carrying heavier loads than others. And itās okay to admit that we all feel sad, frustrated, or just plain tired of the grind sometimes.
This old dog is still learning to accept those āmehā days and the sad moments without (too much) guilt or shame. Iām giving myself permission to let the (election) blues play out rather than forcing myself into a fake good mood.
That said, Iām also happiest making stuff. So Iām gonna keep that doing too.
The Ooga Chaka Baby could groove endlessly to āHooked on a Feeling,ā but even a once-famous animated baby would get dizzy from dancing in circles and eventually have to grow up, right?
So, when the next wave of one-size-fits-all advice hits my feed, Iām going to remind myself that itās okay to be exactly where I am and to be who I am.
Some days, being āhooked on a feelingā means leaning into itāblues and all.
Maybe the best advice is to let ourselves feel whatever weāre feeling, and trust that it will pass when itās ready. And when it does, weāll be ready to dance againāalone or with somebody.
Whatever works for you, I hope we can all dance in our own days and ways.
Thanks for reading and watching!
Clint
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1983 = Francis Ford Coppolaās Rumble Fish is released in theaters.
1983 = Through a spokesperson, the Orthodox Eastern Church in the United States threatens to withdraw from the National Council of Churches if the predominantly gay and lesbian Metropolitan Community Church is allowed to join. In response, the council decides to table the groupās application for membership.
1988 = Mystic Pizza is released in theaters.
2005 = In State v. Limon, the Kansas Supreme Court strikes down a clause of the stateās āRomeo and Julietā law that punished underage sex more severely if it involved homosexual acts.
2016 = Barry Jenkinsā Moonlight is released in theaters.
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CARRIE FISHER
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Hi. I was just telling my hubby how sick I am of getting unsolicited election-related text messages and emails. And yes, the yard signs are annoying. They don't even ask and it's up to us to remove them. Honestly, I can't wait for this election cycle to be over.