YOU NEVER KNOW

LEFT

Pepper Ann Paws

Since the last time we spoke (previously on Katt tries to talk) Summer was about to kick off and boy, oh boy did it ever. The season is in full swing and has driven headfirst into the “normalcy” we’ve all yearned for. But as of recent studies and data (listen to science and doctors not people foaming at the mouths, shouting at podiums) we may have prematurely jumped that gun. No, not maybe, we most certainly did. Yet again we were not able to sit back and chill out for the better. I’m not what you would call a “brain”, but I know I have the common sense and wherewithal to put two and two together. That’s something that’s hard to find lately, it exists and is out there in the ether but hidden like rare truffles under a layer of dirt and filth that consumes the media (and social media). The decency to make sacrifices and take precautions for the sake of those around us. Why bother, I guess. Why even write this, why express this opinion that no one asked for? Because

I can, I suppose, because it’s a knot in my brain that

I must loosen, it’s a bug in my ear that I can’t quite itch. What else should do I do aside from slamming my head against this tiny wooden desk hoping some points make it onto the screen? I stop, and I breathe, and feel my back against the chair and my feet touching the ground. Letting each breath fill my lungs until my heart finds a smooth rhythm, one which my mind can step to. Then, I take a moment to remember you can’t change the world. A bummer of a thought but true. However, you can definitely make a dent in your little corner of the world. What does that mean exactly? It means looking after yourself. Doing maintenance both mentally and physically making sure your system is running on all cylinders. To shed your old skin and to really allow change, you must want it first, in my experience anyhow. It’s easy to float around from day to day expecting and hoping for things to get better for something good to come along but what can come from that without honest effort. It would be like waiting to get a letter back in response to one you never sent. What’s that old saying that I never hear any more about the stone and the moss? I think you get the point, and it’s time to get rolling. Find motivation, find passion, and spread that on a contagion level (minus Matt Damon and the scary plot) of community and joy. It takes absolutely no effort whatsoever to be pessimistic and selfish. You simply put cruise control on and mow down any sign of hope and optimism while reclining far back with your sunglasses on with no regard for where you’re going. Easy life no doubt, with no disappointment but with absolutely no reward. Allow disappointment to be a variable and accept that with the effort you put into being better, know that it can go belly up. It’s scary to know that trying to change could go horribly wrong but what if things went horribly right? I’m talking extremely right, so far beyond what you thought you could achieve. It’s possible, and extremely plausible but you won’t ever

know until you try. I get nervous, I doom myself and my thoughts before I’m able to even put them into action. All the worst corrupts my visions and I’m defeated right out of the gate. This was my usual dance with myself (and sometimes still is), broken spirited, swirling in my own dazed and confused atmosphere of negativity. It was horrible until it wasn’t. Things started to change simply because of what we talked about earlier. I stopped thinking about what could go wrong (it was still on board but no longer the target) and started picturing what could go right? So, did I have to write this? No not at all, but did I? Yes, I did, and I guess I hope this is shapes out to be something helpful for all of you. Something maybe you needed to hear. A small yet honest piece of inspiration and encouragement from us to you. If me (captain bummer) can muster up whatever energy and amount of time it took to release this long chaotic piece of dribble from my calloused fingertips stabbing away at my typing keyboard in a hot dungeon of an office then yeah, I’m sorry but I expect all of you to be able to pull energy from whatever realm you exist in and get to work. Get to work on what you love. Get to work on what makes you happy. Get to work on yourselves and during all this work (because it never ends) spread some of that positive change. Even though it’s just in your little corner of the world, don’t forget you can still make a dent. Eat my ass, love you.

-ROB “KATT” ANTHONY