Its All Good

This is a great song by Donald Fagen(Steely Dan)which rose in the charts in November 1982.

There sure was some good music that year, the year we lived in Enid, OK. 

Let Go. Chill. Chill-ax. Take it easy. Don't sweat it. Its all good. No worries. 

We've heard these cliches before a million times.  We pass them along to others way too often.  Most often this 'wise advice' is discounted, unheard, and not acted upon by those who receive it. 

But, if you can feel what these platitudes can do within your own life, they may actually have some merit.

Here's a personal example of what I mean.  The other night, walking Robbie in the warm evening wearing shorts and flip flops, I was lost in thought as usual. It was still light enough to see colors and Robbie, who is fearful of the dark, prefers that.  I rounded a corner toward a grassy area where Robbie loves to go to smell other dogs' scents in the grass and I was thinking how strange it is that I enjoy the place, the scenery, the activities I now have here.  Then I understood what a friend had observed after reading one of my previous blog entries: I seem to be at peace now.  

Yes, I have decided that this is my home, and yes, its the very same place that I was bashing and finding fault with for the past year.  But of course, I can't let this new feeling just BE without wondering how I got to this affirmation...

So, just at sunset, it dawned on me(hah-get it?) that I finally get to RELAX.  Relax and quit stressing about the what will be's and what if's that could happen.   I even saw the image of the word 'Relax' in my mind's eye.  There's something about having that x at the end that makes it a pleasing image to me.

I'm not saying this is my forever home, but it's not bad, especially this winter!  Living here where it is warm makes for a more laid back existence if you allow yourself to slough off the crap that gets to you.  Obviously, there are people here who are aggressive and driven and stressed, but I don't have to deal with them very often anymore.  And yes, I do understand that I am fortunate.

I still compare my existence here to my former existence in California, and I've come to the realization that my quality of life is better here.  Yes, its hard to hear some of the mean spirited things that are flung around by those in Arizona state government. But, while not ignoring it, I can also choose not to make it part of me.  

When I first moved here in 2003, I saw the fake license plates you can buy here for the empty space on your front bumper that read, "Its All Good".  I had never seen that before. I think I finally understand it now though.  Hot summers, warm winters- Its All Good.  Scorpions, snakes and coyotes in your yard- Its All Good. Sitting outside under misters in summer at dusk with a glass of wine- Its All Good.

Donald Fagen wrote the song you're listening to in honor of the optimism from the year of the International Geophysical Year which ran July 1, 1957 to December 31, 1958. I came into being during this same time period.   I've read that there was an air of promise then and the world just knew the future was going to be fantastic. I like that ideal and would like to keep a tiny bit of that same expectation for my own future.

What a beautiful world this will be. What a glorious time to be free.