Music I live by (I)

My sister Sue and me were doing stunts with electric trains.
She said she'd do my dishes, so I handed her the reins.
And she engineered a collision steered by a hand-eye protegee...
Before my train set started burning I heard my sister say:

(chorus)
Look straight at the coming disaster,
Realize what you've lost.
You keep handing out horseshoes:
Horseshoes have gotta be tossed.

I dreamed I went to heaven 'cause I told my lover lies.
When I woke up I went to her and looked her in the eyes.
I said "help me cry, 'cause I can't deny this union's feeling wrong",
Then a flashback to the dream and angels singing songs 

(chorus)

Don't push the river; if you love it, set it free.

I said "go on and see him, you can still come home to me".

I was satisfied, God was on our side,
'Cause we're freer than the birds.
She sent me a letter: I didn't read it,
I already knew the words (chorus)

--Moxy Fruvous, "Horseshoes"

Since I was a little kid, I've had an overdeveloped sense of consequence. It has its downsides: a guilty conscience, for one. I used to get singled out in grade school when I'd done nothing wrong and wasn't even near the wrongdoers, simply because I looked guilty as hell. 

I also can't lie for shit. Deep down, I'm certain every lie I tell will be found out. You can see that realization in my face every time I equivocate. (I'd royally suck at poker...) 

Over the years, I've discovered only two ways to (somewhat) reliably lie. One is to spend a few minutes (or hours, or weeks) convincing myself that my lie is The Truth, The Whole Truth, And So On. That's hard. Far easier is the lie by omission. Sometimes you can tell a lot more about my thoughts by what I don't say.

Anyway....consequence. I believe that we are at cause for whatever life brings us, both individually and collectively. For proof, just look at the collapsing economy. Recessions are inevitable, but this one was preordained: too many people, too many institutions, spending money they didn't have. (The worldwide response--not that they have much of a choice--is to create more money out of thin air. There will be consequences to that, too.) 

Life is a series of choices. As a new year dawns and people are busily making and breaking resolutions, I think it's important to remember that a "resolution" is simply choosing again. The key to keeping a resolution is to make the same choice over and over again. 

Remember, too, that choices have consequences. We have the power to create heaven on earth. We've sure done a fine job approximating hell, in some places. 

When something 'bad' happens to you, the first thing to do is to recategorize it as an opportunity to choose again. Sometimes this is very difficult; quite often, it is only in hindsight that we see how our missteps ultimately served us. 

I like to consider how I might have caused the 'bad' thing to happen. I don't browbeat myself with it (that's pointless), but I do try and recognize what actions led to this consequence. If only so I can choose again, properly, this time. "You keep handing out horseshoes...horseshoes have gotta be tossed..."

I'd segue into The Secret here, but I'm out of time, and tomorrow's going to be a nutso day. So ta-ta for now, and remember: CONSEQUENCE HAPPENS.