Life of Seuss

Life (according to Dr. Seuss)

The older I get,... the more I experience, ... the more I write,...I realize that I am in the Dr. Seuss chapter of my life.  I probably always was, except for 20 years married to an uber-responsible adult with OCPD according to a friend of mine - I suppose a logical complement to my ADHD  (opposites attract as they say!).  And it worked for a nice while.  I am so lucky that I did catch my dream of the Peace Corps later in life...it made me realize that my dream was a fantasy, but the opportunity that
the Peace Corps offered allowed me to rediscover my life dreams that I am now living.  So, I guess for every purpose there really is a season!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!.

This is my current Seussism, and I must say that I still find it hard to decide everything every day and live with those decisions - it was much easier with a partner, especially a partner who had it all figured out. Well, until that felt overbearing.  And now, after the Peace Corps experience, I know that no one truly has it figured out - that there is no "right" and that I am not "wrong" - just need to change my habit of always deferring to others.  But, yes - I DO have brains in my head and feet in my shoes - and I am steering myself in directions that I NEVER, EVER thought I would go  And somedays, like today, I don't even put on my shoes, but write in my sarong - loving every minute of my decision to spend the day this way!

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”
― Dr. Seuss 

I must say that I have done some of my best thinking work here in the Philippines, although much of it will never be used...it was too American - done too quickly and too comprehensively which is counter-productive here. Patience and respect is of the utmost importance and Asian Patience is highly valued - much too highly IMO.  So I have evolved - probably because I cannot think like an American and get anything done!  I have to first think American for the analysis and solution, and then modify it to the Pilipino culture - suggesting only one bite at a time (and only after being asked), and then further making that bite more appealing to the provincial thinking here in this far-flung province of "The Last Frontier".   Over the almost three years, I've evolved into Palphipican - more Palawano than Pilipino but with the ever-present and foundational American root.



“You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)  Kid, you'll move mountains.”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Mixed up?  Hay Naku!  I can't think of any area where I haven't made mistakes!  From little to enormous and the biggest challenge is to forgive myself and move forward...and to get back in the middle of the flow of Life which is Everywhere. But Balanced - I always seem to get unbalanced right after I feel that I am finally well-balanced! 

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”
― Dr. Seuss

I have tried to fit in my entire life and have made myself miserable in the effort - no longer trying.  My feelings can still get hurt, but even that is transitory in these elder, er, golden years!

“I’m glad we had the times together just to laugh and sing a song, seems like we just got started and then before you know it, the times we had together were gone.”
― Dr. Seuss

This is the one that I get stuck in - I'm learning how to celebrate it instead of being saddened and fantasizing different endings; like having multiple lives that I could experience all the possible endings.  I remember flavors and smells and adventures: searching for the best cheesecake in NYC with Mary; doing the Yucatan with Ash; showing Liz every snorkeling cove on the Big Island, shooting the freezing rapids in British Columbia with Katie, and all the times with the girls and Dave.  That old "Carpe Diem!!" but "Live in the Moment!" as well.


 

“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.”
― Dr. Seuss

Having those FUN FIRSTS - exploring new things was always my favorite thing to do - and I'm seeing lots of new things - from the swim with whale sharks and dolphin encounters to spending three nights on tiny island in a hammock, to the Buddhist temples of Chiang Rai in Thailand and the Hindu stonecarvers of Bali and next to Angkor Watt in Cambodia - wow - there are so many places to see and people to meet.

 “All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go! and The Lorax

 

Thankfuly, I like being alone, but I'm getting worried about the terminal recluse or lonely old bag scenarios.  The Peace Corps experience allowed me to talk with anyone in my travels - something I hated to do before - as well as to eat out without feeling a moment's qualm...but I must admit that it gets lonely.  Not the same lonely that you feel with someone that you shouldn't feel lonely with, but still.  It mostly hits me in romantic settings where young people are loving on each other - reminds me of the "Hello Young Lovers" song from The King and I, although I'm not sure that fits anything but my fantasy.  Or watching happy families and remembering my own back in the day.  On the other hand, being alone allows you to interact with so many other people.  Better than not doing, I do alone - but usually pair up with folks - even those couples who are loving on each other, or the single woman backpacker, or the honeymooners from Manila, or the grandparents with their family...yes "lonely" is a relative word.

 

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.”
― Dr. Seuss

As he also said, "Adults are just obsolete children," I've never had "being a grown up" as a goal of mine.  But, even through the wrong end of a telescope, some realities of a 3rd world country are harsh and not very laughable.  Those are the things that are overwhelming to me - the scope and magnitude of the problems and the total inability to solve or truly improve things (oops - there's that American value - to fix things - most of the globe"accepts" people and things as they are).  Recently, a medical mission arrived with 14 professionals (Speech and Occupational Therapists) to do a free screening for children.  They were stunned when over 200 families responded...and could not handle them all, but saw about 120 families that day.  I just helped out, but was shaken at the magnitude and the looks of hopelessness on the faces of the parents (especially since I had agreed to set up a similar clinic for assessing disabilities).   Listening in to the discussions was wrenching - the ignorance of people due to poverty and lack of education - these people had never had their child to a doctor, let alone to a specialist.  And the problems were profound - no amount of money could have helped these children...but education, prevention and early intervention could have helped probably 80% of them.  To have the answers but to have them unreachable is heartbreaking.  So Dr. Seuss, maybe it should be "enables you to laugh at most of life's realities"?

“There's no limit to how much you'll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go.”
― Dr. Seuss

 

I've think I've passed zebra and am now looking forward to more non-alphanumerics.  And, as I said I don't 'know' much, although I feel my brain is expanding.  But I think it really takes something stupendous to get you past zebra - you really have to leave the non-Seussian confines of your mind and the societal structures that limit your thinking (and all societies brain wash inhabitants - how else could we stand to live together in a given society??).    A trip to see the sights of a foreign country is not the "something" that I'm talking about.  But to try to get into another's head and understand why a group of people think and act the way they do, without judgement. I was fortunate in having the Peace Corps provide that vehicle, although it wasn't a pleasant or fun ride much of the time - but it did blow out the Winchester Mystery house architecture of my mind with my assumptions and insular thinking.  Even so, I will never understand this society to the point of accepting and operating fluidly within it.   Liz claims that I "drank the Kool Aid," but I think quite the opposite; that we all have blinders on and that only exposure to the "others" and "them" will give understanding.  I did leave a lot behind in my old life and part of me is sad that I will never be the same, but the unfolding flower in front of me (or is it just the tear-producing onion?) is fascinating to behold.