“I've been accused of vulgarity. I say that's bullshit.”
Keep Calm & Call Mom

-- Mel Brooks

Hey there everyone!!

I’m sitting in the Emergency Room, and despite my severe physical pain, I’m making wise-cracks, horsing around, and laughing up a storm. My mother says to me (translated from Urdu), “Stop laughing! The doctors are going to think you’re perfectly fine and send you home.”

Apparently I have a hernia. I must have brought it on through some over-strenuous activity probably in one of my contact dance classes. Why is it when we do what we love, shit still happens?

1. Shit Happens

It’s so simple, yet so profound. Why do we forget it then? Life is all about remembering--remembering that life isn’t fair, and remembering that remembering doesn’t always rectify.

Life/god/universe also has comical timing... This week I was part of a symposium for cancer survivors, talking about using words to transform our health. Time to walk my talk, I thought, by listening to myself. (It did make a difference for me, thank Goddess).

2. Shit Inspires

It makes sense to be positive and optimistic, but not to an extreme. See, negative things can actually inspire other people, if shared in a real and authentic way. It allows others to remember that everyone goes through adversity, and has them feel good about their current well-being.

American Football star, Tim Foley, shares how most people think that lightning strikes only in their lives. He encourages people to become aware that lightning strikes in everybody’s lives, and that that consciousness can be transformative.

3. Inspire Anyways

Discipline is doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, when we don't want to do it....

Shit is an easy excuse to use, because it is the most convincing. How can we possible put effort into getting back on track when the world just gives us obstacle after barrier after obstacle?

Success Coach Casey Combden teaches that commitment is sticking to a decision, long-after the emotion of making that decision has passed. It’s not the actual effort that is daunting to keep a goal; it is the feeling of unfairness. Shit happens, so play a game that seems to be unfair, anyway.

4. Shits Part of the Cycle

Life is all about cycles, from seasons to markets. Things never remain all rosy, even when they seemingly become all rosy. There always comes a certain cleanse, total re-engineering, or even some “quantitative easing.” :)

It’s actually healthy to become unhealthy every now and again. It’s good to get mad every now and then. And it’s even ok to visit a dark depressive place every now and then. It’s all part of the cycle.

5. Shit Just Got Real

The body is such a sophisticated piece of work! Any little nuance that is a tad off kilter can cause a downward spiral of negative consequences. Why is it when we think we’re having a bad day and things can’t get worse--they do?

A bad day turns into a bad week which turns into a bad month. When it rains it pours. Shit only gets serious when we really need to be with it. We all shit, and we all need to accept it, embrace it, and enjoy it. For real.

6. When Shit Hits the Fan Or We’re Shit Out of Luck

We’ve got to use visual metaphors to get people’s attention. When we’re in deep shit, only the best of friends will come and help us out. For everyone else, we may need to use other tactics, like letting people know we’re “at the end of our rope” or crying wolf.

Sometimes we have this belief that by some miracle our shitty mess will be saved. But even when it looks like things may be ok, there comes a new shit disturber. We should not be in this predicament... None of this should have happened... We just “should” all over ourselves.

“Life happens. Shit happens. And it happens a lot. To a lot of people.”
-- Colleen Hoover, Slammed

God gives us only what we can handle. Apparently God thinks I'm a bad-ass.

How can we inspire others when we feel like shit? Ah, that’s actually the best time to inspire. People don’t get inspires just by success stories. People get inspired by stories of people going through tougher shit than they are going through.

But let’s not get caught up on whose pile of shit is bigger (same shit, different pile, right?). Instead, let us rejoice in knowing that we all go through shit, always have, and always will.

Watch this video about using the power of words to transform your own shit into the spiritual fertilizer of divine creation. Shift your shit.

Let’s love the world together...

Love,
[)anish /|hmed, blind visionary

P.S., I know, I know. I talk a lot of shit. But it’s good shit.