Have you ever noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff?

George Carlin, one of the greatest minds to live, delivered many meaningful messages via his comedy. Above was one of my all time favorites.

And it rings true. Everyday.

Yet, sometimes it takes a shift of perspective to allow us to regroup. To refocus on what’s important.

What is important? Stuff? Money? Family?

None of the above? Yes, none of the above. Only two things are important. Yourself and the right now.

That’s it. Nothing else matters.

Stuff? That’s pretty understandable. You acquire things through life. Some of it is taken away from you. Some of it you give away. Some of it provides creature comforts through various stages of life. Some of it makes us numb. But most of it, we don’t need. Including that smartphone.

I used to think I couldn’t live without my iPod. Now, I rarely even listen to music. And books? As long as I have a list of what I want to read (or re-read), these too can pass in and out of my life.

Money? Again, this can be taken away from you. It can be given away. I won’t lie and say money doesn’t provide options—that money isn’t nice to have. But there are a lot of people out there with no money. They may not be happy... but they survive.

Family? Perhaps, but consider this: don’t think your sister, kid, cousin, brother, etc. won’t shit all over you if/when you cross them. Don’t kid yourself. And don’t think family won’t take advantage of you—just because you’re family. And take. And take.

Siddhartha conveys this message beautifully, when he discovers he has a son, and attempts to reconnect and have a life with him... only to realize they each have very different lives, different outlooks, different journeys. And he does the only sane thing to do. He wishes his son well, and let’s him go.

So, here is where I’m arriving at in my journey. Myself, and the right now. Sometimes, it takes a colossally bad decision to inspire coerce us into change. And here we are.

As mentioned previously, my sister has moved in to get her life together. While she is making progress, I am struggling to retain myself and to focus on what’s important. I get “victims,” after all, we can smell our own. But I’ve moved past that, and no longer need negative energy in my life. When I agreed to let her stay, I believed she was on a similar journey... to find herself and to find a great life.

Instead, I find a lack of motivation and missing—wait for it—stuff. All for helping—wait for it—family. And, of course, there is also missing—you guessed it—money. So, now I’m back in a position where I’m reacting to what’s happening in my life, instead of enjoying the right now.

And now, I won’t kid you—I have to protect the money. I will sell the stuff, and I’m aware that this arrangement will ultimately implode that side of the family.

For the first time in years, I know what I want. I know the journey I’m on. I have an idea what resources I’ll need to pursue it.

And while, if it all disappeared tonight, I may still find a way to pursue my dreams—I need to re-focus on myself. Purge the stuff. Protect the money. And remove the drama.

There is no point in trying to save someone from their own toxicity... plus, that’s not my job nor my purpose.