How to Find a Direction in Life

To finish this edition of my life I would like to offer an idea of all the parts that make up one whole of my brain and, to make that construction even more surreal, my imagination.

Here, in the style  of The Rocky Horror Show, is my story.

Since the day I was born, I've been trouble...

Well, not really trouble, more of thinker, which in most Western worlds is considered to be trouble. I often reach the conclusion that most organisations don't want you to think, just do. Like Nike constantly remind us - JUST DO IT - which is also what many managers say when you question something utterly fuck-worthy. 

But you get a big fat tick on the side of your shoe or in the middle of your chest, so hey.

Woah - woah - woah

endless movies and fast times (not at Ridgemont High but I did live on a road called Ridgeway, which is close); drinking in the culture of Cherry Coca Cola and Mars, hey...Star Wars and Indy, woah yeah.

Plastic figurines for friends, my parents did not question. Playing in the woods all day pretending to be anything other than a 12 year old kid was all we needed in life.

And then...

I grew. Like Alice in the Wonderland, I grew and started to shave and then liked films like Die Hard and then Clint Eastwood and then...oh my god...Prince and horror and sex... (probably in that order)

aaaaarrrrrgggghhhh!

Life. Never stopped me thinking though. And with thinking comes imagination and with imagination comes dreams and all those dreams always went back to the stories, the culture, the influence of those halcyon Cherry Coke days of Temple of Doom or Gremlins. That's the key.

Don't stop...believin'....
Hold on to that feelin'...

With great power, comes great responsibility. With parenting too. Did you ever see The Money Pit? Who did, not many. I did, it was great and I also saw Top Secret and Police Squad. Thanks to the Video Inn, a haven for 80's kids.

So then when you have children you almost regress as you enter the world of current pop-culture and some of it works, and then some of it really doesn't. Which reminds you of the things that worked for you when you were that age and the bottom line to life i have discovered is that you never, ever grow up.

Unless you want to. But all those people are grey and talk about spreadsheets...all of the time. I mean all of the time, like, they actually like fucking spreadsheets (maybe literally).

We choose our destiny, just like George McFly does with the help of his son who has a mother who has the hots for him. Mmmm, questionable ethics of Back to the Future. 

And then you reach a point where you are at a crossroads, do you head down Coronation Street or across to the Eastenders? No! You choose your path and the tools you need to take you to your dreams. 

So never stop thinking. I couldn't, and as I said, that leads to imaginations. Yet it also leads to nightmares and demons and monsters and detachment and you can, if you are not careful, head down a dark road where the trees are made of burnt oak and the pavement is covered in black treacle. It's a long way back, but worth it. You're like Darth Vader repenting for his darkness in Return of the Jedi (forget the others, please). 

You are back! The Hero is Back! The one person you think you can be you can be and you know you can be so just be...right?

If only it were that simple. As Shakespeare once wrote, 'All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players'. We have in our lives wonderful people coming in and out, making entrances and exits. Ultimately though, your story is about you and you alone. 

So, my parting message for you is this, remember, you are the hero; you are the only one who can make a difference. Love yourself first, and then you can share so much more.