Brainsqualling

I have a writing exercise that helps me when all other thoughts of story structure or creative wandering lead me to a sad little stump in the road. I make lists. I do it to pass the time, I do it to avoid making a trip right to the center of what I'm feeling, so...wait...that's significant. What am I avoiding? (Sometimes the words come out so quickly I get surprised by things I write after I read them.)

Okay, maybe that has to simmer for a little bit. I...uhh...where was I? Oh, lists. Yes. I make lots of lists. Among the crazy, stupid things I make lists about, I occasionally use them to empty my mind when I'm in transition.

So I asked myself, can I name ten lessons that life is trying to teach me? This is what I came up with:

1) If you have to say something important, say it and then let it go

2) Second chances are overrated and third chances are just plain dumb

3) Sometimes people are truly unaware of their actions, and sometimes they're just unaware of the consequences. Most of the time, they're only focused on the benefits.

4) Apathy and indifference are in style right now, but they're the plastic cup of friendship; They're convenient, stackable, and completely disposable.

5) If you don't believe in compromise, you can either hold on to your principles or you can hold on to your friends, but not both at the same time.

6) Life is too short to settle for spending time doing things you don't like doing.

7) You can't blame people for wanting to use you for the things you CAN do instead of the things you WANT to do. That's their limitation, not yours, and you have an endless supply of the word "no" at your disposal.

8) People will fight for the freedom of stupidity, and they have a right to that. For example, George Bush was elected TWICE.

9) 99% of everyone out there will not care about the details you obsess about, so make them count for you.

10) Try as much as you can to get the world around you to conform to your rules, but know that people will not change. They'll twist and contort slightly to fit around you, but sooner or later they'll snap back to the person you should have seen and accepted in the first place.

11) Never limit yourself to ten.

12) If you reach for something or someone and you get denied or ignored, don't lose faith in the action. You are merely a key looking for a lock.

I suppose the real question at this point is whether or not these are too big for fortune cookies. Okay, this isn't quite like the other lists I've made, but this is all about brain maintenance.

Now what is that other current I very nearly tapped into?