Reality

Reality. It really is a ride on the bus. So many of us have our personalized versions and so many struggle to accept their own. But what is most important to gather from this is the understanding that while we have to accept our own ride on the bus, it helps to understand that many others are buying that ticket in their own way, if they can. And in some form, we all ride a bus and that’s why we’re in this thing together.

 

The job offer that I recently received at the local newspaper has contributed to the urgency that my ride is getting started and I should do everything I can to pay attention, for fear of missing my stop. So many times we may sleep right through it.

 

It was a rough first night. I attended the county commission meeting, hoping to make a good first impression. I met a good portion of the county government roster and spent most of my time connecting names to faces and giving my best go at remembering as many of them as possible. Things went well before the meeting.

 

The bad news? I walked back afterward, knowing that I had no story. I had entered into the middle of budget talks and found that what I thought I knew and had prepared for going into the meeting, was out the window. Nothing had happened. No votes, just discussion. Now what? Wait.

 

Recently, I graduated college. Right away, my version of reality snapped into place. The realizations were heavy and poignant. There was no more waiting on the next semester. This was the big game. The real deal. And sometimes, life intervenes in unexpected ways.

 

For example, the realization that has come my way is that we are fragile and mortal. And seeing my mother in her fight with cancer has solidified my goals a bit, by showing me that life is too short to just mosey through without a purpose. Though it took me a moment to accept that I was facing this real world everyone had been talking about for the majority of my college career, I was buying the ticket. I was finally getting on, taking my seat and preparing for the ride. I was getting on a bus where other people’s realities affect my own. Though it is family, I think you may see what I mean.

 

How are you getting ready for your ride? Do you have a ride? Does the road need repairs? Are you settling for a late bus, hopping the 99 to nowhere, maybe still standing out on the curb barking at people for taking the ride they’ve chosen? Maybe it’s because you’re still staring down the row of distractions that line the sidewalk and lure you away from your destination. I know I’ve had my moments with that walk.

 

If you don’t have a ride, some destination to look ahead to, no doubt there are many times you can’t afford the fare. It happens to us all.

 

This is not a problem that I can fix, but it is a problem we can care about and make others care about by shouting that you need a helping hand. And maybe if more of us chose to accept the reality that others have to live with, like homelessness, for example, we would be able to help everyone get a ride to somewhere. Reach out. There is a fellow passenger out there that will care.

 

I know it’s vague. I know this has been all over the place, but these are my thoughts in some form. And reality. This is just one simple word, but one that will hopefully make people think about not only their own situation, but others’ as well.

 

Sometimes forcing a word like reality to enter out minds, may help us to do that. It’s simple really. Because, what is reality to you, may be science fiction to someone without that ticket to the ride that’s waiting for them, until we take that ride together.