do you ever wonder what the hec it is? what’s the end game? why is this happening? how did it all get so complicated? why, the older you get, do the answers become more elusive rather than less?

most of us were raised on the notion that life is a perfectly linear path: study hard, get a degree, get a job in a relevant field, at some point along the way meet a partner, settle down, buy a dog, perhaps build a family. and then you've got it made.

but we all know that reality is far messier. neatly plotted points on a line? yeah right. nope, life is fluid. it’s circuitous. often, when you’re immersed in it, it just plain doesn’t make sense.

no one would fault you if you chalked it all up to random acts of crappiness. particles in the universe, protons and neutrons, coming together to assemble the perfect shit sandwich. the rain on your parade that strikes just when you think you’ve hit your stride.

…or you could trust that there is an ultimate plan.

some method to all the madness. some reason, some lesson, some purpose, that doesn’t crystallize until time and distance bring the answer into view.

i guess i’m somewhere in the middle. we’re all trying to make sense of the circus. the swirl of people and circumstances, tragedies and triumphs, that make up our own personal narrative. perhaps instead of grasping for the big picture—which may or may never reveal itself—we should simply strive for a balanced perspective. one distorted or ugly situation does not the entire story tell. there are just as many, if not more, strokes that are brilliant, shiny, beautiful.