so don't panic, there simply is no need... theories from songs

Anyone who recognizes that as a line from Jack's Mannequin gets brownie points.

But in all seriousity now (and yes, I did make up that word), those are some of the wisest words I've ever heard.

The guy who wrote that was diagnosed with leukemia at 23, fought through it, and kept on going. The full song lyrics are at the bottom. Anyone who wishes to ridicule me for listening to Jack's Mannequin can do so as they please, because frankly I don't give a hoot. But I'll save my feelings on other people's opinions of me for another post.

The point that this song brings me to is the same that someone else who is very wise beyond his years brought to my attention tonight. He told me, in more descriptive words than I can recall, that it isn't worth it to worry about things. Any types of things. Terrible things, tiny things, medium sized things with a side of fries.

In essence, it seems to work like this:

1. People stress themselves out. Something unbelievably awful and traumatic happens in the morning- you forget your keys, you spill coffee, you miss your train, you realize you have something due in a class you hate and haven't prepared for.

2. After this completely unforeseen and completely unfair event, something else happens. You trip up some stairs with a bunch of people watching. There's a pretty pink parking ticket stuck in the windshield wiper of your beloved car. Someone looks at you funny in the street.

3. And so on, and so forth. Until all these things keep building on you, and their chain of consequences weighs you down, and down, and down. Then you run around whining about the sorry state of your life to all your friends, who eventually get sick of you. What could be worse? How could your life possibly deteriorate further?

Bad news- it will keep deteriorating until you're an old crotchet with ulcers and bitter remarks for any hapless happy youngsters you encounter  if you don't get the hell out of the middle of that illogical and idiotic road you're walking.

If you just realized that you're one of those people in the middle of that freeway of unnecessary pain, I hope you realize by the end of this that it's high time for you to get out of there, Frogger style.

I have always operated on my most base level like a little kid. I keep my fears as limited as possible my making it a point to overcome them through experience. I try to soak up as much information as possible from everything I contact. And most importantly, my emotional and mental stress levels peak once every... well, it's been 18 years. You think I'm lying, don't you? Fine. I know, though.

I know that letting it all pass on through you instead of catching it and holding it and gripping it (if i'm losing you or you haven't been paying attention, the 'it' is stress and hurt and all the crap that life throws at you) is the most incredible form of coping. Become a filter, not a catch-all, and the bad stuff will pass through the grates and wash away. You're left with whatever you can glean from the force that hit you.

So next time you're about to explode or implode or what have you, breathe. Take in air. Respire. Close the eyes. It's a ticket, a spill, a glitch in your schedule. Will it matter next week? Heck, will you remember it happened next week? Nope. You won't. So let it go, open the eyes so you don't bang into something, and keep moving.

Hang on, don't panic, there simply is no need, cause we're all hanging here.

Peace, and much love.

From an empty room on the first floor
As the cars pass by the liqour store
I deconstruct my thoughts at this piano
And it's all that I can do to stay with
All the things I didn't say to you
Before you moved across the country
And from the burning building where I lay
As I watch the stars become the day
The L.A. girls were lacing up their sneakers
They run the boardwalks and the beach
This fishbowl life is all they need
It's everything I needed, too
Until I heard the news

I'll send this message through the speakers
They told me that you moved
I'll cross this country on a frequency

I'm slipping through, I'm slipping through
I'm slipping into the airwaves
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through
My fingers and into the airwaves
The static's where you'll find me

From the corner by the studio
The gold-soaked afternoon comes slow
I deconstruct my thoughts and I am walking by
On Third Street, the freakshow thrives
Santa Monica's alive, but
Something's not so right inside
Living with the news

I'll send this message through the speakers
They told me that you moved
I'll cross this country on a frequency

I am slipping through, I am slipping through
I am slipping into the airwaves
(The static's where you'll find me)
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through
My fingers and into the airwaves
Into the airwaves

So hold on, it's gonna be hard day
So hang on, now. Don't panic
Don't panic, there simply is no need

It's gonna be a hard day
It's gonna be a hard day
Don't panic, don't panic
We are hanging here
We are hanging here

I am slipping through, I am slipping through
I am slipping into the airwaves
(The static's where you'll find me)
And this is nothing new, you are slipping through
My fingers and into the airwaves
Into the airwaves

It's gonna be a hard day
(It's gonna be a hard day)
So hang on, now
Don't panic, don't panic
There simply is no need

It's gonna be a hard day
(It's gonna be a hard day)
It's gonna be a hard day
Don't panic, don't panic
We are hanging here

(It's gonna be a hard day)
We are hanging here
(It's gonna be a hard day)
We are hanging here
We are hanging here

*above lyrics are the work of Jacks Mannequin and are used here for therapeutic and educational purposes. I did not write them (though I wish I did), and I do not claim to have written them.