What to do? What to do.

I'm in public relations/marketing. In this industry, I am a lucky one: my main task is to to promote tourism in a state that has a lot to offer as far as pure, untouched, raw outdoor adventures. That tourism impacts real people in local economies. At least, that's what I tell myself.

In this economy, or any for that matter, I'm truly thankful for anyone who give me a job and a paycheck.

But, at the end of the day, selling a message doesn't make me feel like I'm floating my boat entirely. You might say, it makes me feel a bit waterlogged.

I've always wanted to make a greater difference; to impact people. Should've stayed in education: don't have the patience for it.

I don't think I'm alone; don't think I'm the only person in our society who doesn't feel fulfilled by sitting at a desk and spinning products and messages all day.

So what do we do? Saddled by student loan payments and debts (not that I always pay mine), we're sort of tied to that desk. Tied to the system that requires us to be politically correct on our social media profiles, to keep our mouths shut in the office lunchroom when we hear people rip on Christianity, to feign interest when co-workers talk about pop-culture and television dramas, to act like we don't have an opinion when pop-culture informed political opinions are expressed.

What do we do?

I have some strong ideas for myself. Of course, all these ideas require a great leap of faith and some serious startup capital.

As soon as I secure the latter, I'll grab onto that faith and jump, wildly, into what exactly it is I'm supposed to do.

Little Old Ladies

Traveling home for Christmas, there was a cute little old lady in the airport with three suitcases.

"I'm going on a cruise with my best friend from Sacramento," she told the attendant who was kindly helping her. "The cruise will leave out of Florida, but we'll spend a day in California."

Her voice was high; her eyes bright. Excited.

She made me smile. Probably in her 60's, her independence seemed in tact.

She also made me think:

1. About growing old.
2. About relationships.

It's no secret that I can be a bit of a tyrant. I get tired and cranky. Tired of myself; tired of the shit that piles up, faster and faster, daily. All this shit I could really do without. Things like filling out insurance forms; paying late fees for $50 parking tickets; meetings about meetings; my dear friends who can't just buck up and ditch the losers who've been fucking with their heads for as long as we both can stand to remember. Yes, all this shit I could really do without.

But, the fact is that we have to deal with this stuff as we get old. Fact: we all only keep getting old.

The more grace we have in handling life's shit seems to positively impact our relationships as well.

So, handle your shit, be graceful and manage your relationships, and you just might find yourself on a Florida cruise, having the time of your life with a great friend when you're 66.

Can it just be that easy?