A stream of consciousness–as Cring speaks gentle exhortation to the listener, to avoid the foolishness of “great expectations,” which can lead to devastating disappointment.

Psst! Come here. Yes, you. Don’t be afraid. Just listen. I’m gonna keep my voice down. Because it’s your business. I’m talkin’ about your life. You look like a smart person. I’m gonna go out on a limb here. Deep inside your guts, you want to be a nice person. Those two words seem to be fighting each other, don’t they?  Nice. Smart. You’ve got everybody telling you that you can’t be smart if you want to be nice. And being nice seems to close the door to smart.

INSERT FROM WITHIN

Buy Now!

It’s scary. You might even find yourself imitating people that you really don’t like, admiring people that you think are kind of mean. And following ideas that don’t seem to go along with what you once believed. It kind of sucks. No, it really sucks.

We’re told to do our best. But then, that look comes on people’s faces, to let us know that our best was just not good enough. So we’re tempted. You know what I mean? Tempted to make up excuses. Blame someone else. Cuss at the world. Shit on other people. Or just

walk away in disgust, hoping people will leave you the hell alone.

When did we get the idea–are you listening to me? Yeah, you! When did we get the idea that everything has to be good, and if it isn’t good we have to pretend it is good, or lie about it. Or change good so that what we have fits the name.

INSERT FROM WITHIN

Buy Now!

Pressure’s on. But you see, here’s the problem. You don’t know what you want. Don’t be ashamed. Hey! You’re not alone. All the children of Earth are clueless. Less clues. Clue. Less.

You had this idea, and this idea was you. You saw it in your mind. You saw it physically, you saw it emotionally, you saw it spiritually and you saw it mentally. Then disappointment showed up. Hell, you know what disappointment is. Anybody who’s ever lived close to an ocean. Disappointment is salt that wears out your car–whether you drive it or not. It floats around in the air, eating away at all the metal you felt you had. All the strength. Disappointment swallows you up.

So what do you want to do? You want to stop the goddamn disappointment. There are only two ways to do that: lie about what you’ve done, or don’t do anything. Have you tried both? Oh, yeah. You’ve tried both, haven’t you? That’s why we’re keeping this just between the two of us. Because you have a whim. You have a wish. Dammit, you’ve got a dream. But that whim can drag you away from what you truly believe, and your wishes? Huh. Sometimes they just put a big spotlight on your selfishness. And dreams–remember what they told you? Dream big! So your dreams are often unrealistic, leaving you feeling embarrassed when you promised 10 and you show up with 2. How in the hell do you explain 2 when you promised 10? What in the dribbling duck do you say to people when your disappointment is added to their disappointment and mingles with a general Earth-disappointment which leaves the whole world a very disappointing experience?

INSERT FROM WITHIN

Buy Now!

It’s not doomed. Just somewhere along the line we have to stop living on dreams. We have to cease having “great expectations.” That should scare the Dickens outta you. There are just too many opinions floating around in your head.

Here it is: Everybody thinks they have a better idea of who you should be. I had relatives who thought I was gonna be a preacher. I had teachers who thought I should be an actor. And I had a family that thought because I couldn’t seem to make money any other way, that I should stock shelves at a convenience store. God damn it hurts when you finally realize what people really think about you.

We all pretend like we want to know. Knock-knock! And we wait to hear, “Who’s there?” Knock-knock! And we still wait! Knock-knock! And finally a whisper from just behind the door says, “No one knocks anymore, asshole. Use the door bell. Ha ha!” When cruel is the fuel, you look like a fool.

INSERT FROM WITHIN

Buy Now!

You don’t know what you want. So are you prepared to take over the title to your life? That means you’re responsible for the repairs. That means you’ve got to paint the outside every once in a while–otherwise people will wonder why it looks so crappy. Cut the grass. Trim things up. Because it’s yours! Take ownership. That requires assuming responsibility.

What if it means you might have to step away from some relationships for a while? That guy over there? He’s not gonna leave you alone until you do what he wants. Stop taking his calls. Your family? They’re so sure that you’re stuck–trapped–incapable of doing anything else. Have you ever heard of the phrase, “love from afar?” Yeah. There’s a damn good idea. For a while send your love by text. But don’t let them get inside you. Don’t let them own you. And please, my God, if you don’t hear anything else, remember: Your life is not meant to be complicated. Your life is meant to be understood–at least by you.

You can’t be a tourist anymore, using somebody else’s passport for your journey. So now that we’ve had this talk, can I sum it up for you?

Do it because you want to. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be right. Because your right can be very wrong, if it’s right at the wrong time or if it’s wrong at the right time. Well, you’ve got the idea. Do it because you want to, and want to because you finally understand. And understand because you see the value. Now, this is just between you and me. Got it?

INSERT FROM WITHIN

Buy Now!

And if you don’t agree, maybe that’s the first good decision in your life. But dammit, follow up on it.

Because the good news is, this is your life. And the better news is, there is no God planning it for you, so get busy.

 

About Author

Jonathan Cring

Our story is told from where we begin. For Jonathan Richard Cring, this was music. First he sang songs, played songs and then one day it occurred to him that he might like to write one. He actually wrote two that morning and rather enjoyed it. This opened the door to people recording his music, ending up in Nashville, Tennessee, with a contract. Having read a book, he had an itch to write one. The first one was small. It was called "The Gospel According to Common Sense." But fourteen books later, he has accumulated a considerable journal of his journey and heart. In the process, he had four sons and was godfather to three others. One of these young men wanted to be a filmmaker. Scripts were required, so Papa Cring wrote thirteen screenplays which ended up being produced into independent feature-length films which won awards at twenty-eight film festivals. While perusing websites for his movie career, Jonathan discovered blogs. He decided to write one and called it Jonathots Daily Blog. That was in 2008. Thousands and thousands of entries, which extended to additional blog categories--one called Jonathots, Jr.--pictures with euphemisms, and Words from Dic(tionary)--taking the Webster classic in its alphabetical order, and writing mostly comical essays on each word. Sitting around the table at Christmas time, his children encouraged him to begin a podcast. In 2018, he began one called Good News and Better News. It is a content-filled tongue-in-cheek look at American culture with the contention that life really doesn't suck. Bouncing off what has been done while discovering what is available has created the arc of the career for Jonathan Richard Cring.
Leave a Reply