Bugs in the Eyes

I was inspired by some friends who shared a message with me that I’d like to pass on to you in my own words.

The message begins with this question:

“Why do dogs like to ride in cars with their heads out the window, when they get bugs in their eyes?”

Now, I know what it’s like to ride along and get bugs in my eyes. Riding a bike’ll do that. Bugs in eyes, grasshoppers slamming into me on the old dirt road out in the country…how I loved that road when the tracks were dry, flat and smooth. I was glad that they didn’t gravel it. The occasional collisions with insects didn’t stop me.

Why? Well, dogs do it for the thrill of the ride!

Life is the ride. The wind is the thrill. The bugs are the “contrast” — the things that happen that we don’t particularly like. But without the things we don’t like, we’d never really expand and grow, would we? We’d just sit in our chairs in our boring jobs, staring at a computer screen, mouths agape, robotically doing whatever we did. No desires, no contrast, no motivation to see things change for the better.

A dull, unfulfilling, unrewarding life. Of course, we wouldn’t know the difference, would we?

Do you want that? Do I want that?

Much as I think (all too often) that I wish my problems and bad feelings would just disappear, I know that without the problems (that I like to re-word as CHALLENGES), I would not have the reward and deliciousness of seeing them solved.

It’s like the feeling you get when you just ate a taco laden with hot sauce, or a super-spicy Szechuan Chinese dish. Doesn’t it feel like your palate is cleansed, somehow? Think about how discomfort makes us cleanse ourselves so that we feel comfort again. There’s the “ahhhh” feeling. Crying can do that. “I feel cleansed,” some say. Sometimes a good scream from one’s very gut can work. I find that as I ALLOW my feelings to just BE FELT without ruminating about the problem and obsessing about it and judging myself and turning it over and over in my mind, I let them pass through and I feel better. Ahhh. That was done. Whew. That feels good! Had I not had the “bad” feelings, I’d not have had the contrasting good feelings. (So are “bad” feelings really bad? Hmmmm!)

It’s sure a lot quicker than trying to not feel the feelings at all.

And good old Rover knows all about this. He doesn’t mind the bugs, because he loves the thrill lots more.

Enjoy your bugs, because the thrill of life is worth it. It really is.

Interesting…

I’ve had two people I don’t know send me comments on my blog about “drugs.” if you don’t know what “tags” are, let me explain.

When I type up a new blog, on the same page where I type there is a section entitled, “Tags.” Key words. If someone is looking for an article or blog on a subject like “drugs,” they type in (somewhere) the word “drugs,” and somewhere, my blog will pop up. Maybe in a list of potential blogs that talk about drugs. I’ve not been on the reading/searching end of things, so I can’t tell you exactly what that process is.

But obviously, people are looking up information on “drugs.” Apparently, a couple wonderful people I don’t know read my blog on drugs — the silly diatribe about buying meds that contain pseudoephedrine — and they liked it, or at least thought it was interesting.

That makes me feel good, even if the information they wanted wasn’t quite what they expected. I shall do the same with this blog, and someone will surf their way here and read about how “tags” work. Most will probably already know.

So hi, all you people interested in drugs! How are you today?

I’m grateful for certain drugs. I’m not quite so grateful that some of them are hugely expensive. When you don’t have medical insurance, the prices of some of these are so incredibly expensive that you’d swear they must contain pure gold and other highly expensive materials.

I wonder how much it really costs to research, develop, manufacture, market and distribute a drug? I really would love to know where every dollar goes. I suppose there will be a few who don’t want me to know.

Maybe it’s better that I don’t.

One thing is certain: they have their place. Their value depends on how necessary they are for one’s well-being. Fortunately, there are resources that make one’s ability to obtain pharmaceuticals at a lower price, for those who are unable to afford them. Even though I can moan and groan about the pharmaceutical state of affairs in the USA, I can also be grateful for the help that’s available to us if we know how to look for it.

And we don’t even have to move to Canada.