The day when you realize that it’s O-K to live and die in total obscurity.

Steve, my contribution to this discussion relates to your observation, and also Craig’s category “The Day You Stop Leaving Jagged Holes in the Concrete . . . ”

There comes a day when you realize that you’re not really at the center of the universe. I mean, this is a hard illusion to dispel–from the time you’re born, everything comes at you–food, perceptions, etc., and there is this “I” thing that people keep honoring and fussing about and that seems really important. Gradually, as an individual and as a species, the illusion hopefully dissipates. We get the manure kicked out of us.

For me, it started to happen about my 6th birthday, when I kept having to remind people “Hey, you know what, it’s my birthday!” And nobody seemed to be very impressed. Sniff. Robert Ardrey wrote about this phenomenon in African Genesis. He called it “The Illusion of Central Position.” By this theory, we grow as individuals and as a species, by becoming aware that we’re not at the center of the universe and all things don’t revolve around us and out concerns.

If somebody fails to ever grow out of the “Illusion of Central Position,” they might, for example, get trapped in something like a Narcissistic Personality Disorder and come to believe they should be ruling the Universe.

The day you stand by your convictions, without fear.

The day you understand the limitations of your body and make peace with the perceived flaws.

The day you accept men and women as human, without hierarchy.

The day you know who you are and accept that person without shame due to sex, age, race physical differences or sexual orientation.

Which is usually followed by the day you accept other people without any judgment based on age, sex, race, physical differences and sexual orientation.

What a great essay. Enjoyed your journey, so entertainingly told – the music, the passions of youth, the stumbles, the rights of passage.

The Day You Grow Up
Can be many things for many people. My feeling is: it’s the day you stop blaming your parents for your problems. …

Or anyone else.

Especially enjoyed this confession:

The Day You Acknowledge that There Might Be, maybe… somewhere… someone who might possibly be… just barely… smarter than you…
Yeah, well I haven’t met the guy yet and besides, I don’t want to talk about it.

So glad you are willing to acknowledge, even if only by omission, that you have met women who are smarter.

last try

also the day you wake up to realize that your whole idea of what a GOOD POLITICAL PARTY is….. goes flying out the door! May 2008

2nd biggest biggie to me! Even over waking up to realize that some people are just not meant to be married to any fool ONE! lol

These are the Days of Our Lives

The first time I heard Jimi Hendrix was on an AM radio station that played Purple Haze. I was an immediate fan. Soon my tastes began to expand. David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust) was also one of my early favorites. And The Who’s Live at Leeds was probably my favorite album for at least a year. And Janis, lovely Janis. I am still moved and transfixed simultaneously every time I hear her.

Another of my early favorites was Santana. I could listen to them all day. In the early seventies I bought a quadraphonic eight track machine and installed it in my 62 VW which I pimped out with flare fenders and all the accessories. Damn that sound was good. I still don’t understand why the technology never caught on.

And lest I forget, another early influence was Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. While their first album never did much for me unless I was totally blitzed those that followed were so totally bizarre that they hit just the right spot for me. Their Live at the Fillmore East is spectacular. I remember fondly sporting a Zappa Crappa poster on my bedroom wall.

I’m sure I’ve left out a lot of influences. Jethro Tull, Zep of course, Cream, Joni Mitchell and Crosby Stills and Nash influenced me greatly. I was never a Dead fan until I went to one of their concerts and, how shall I put this, got into the appropriate mood. After that I saw what the fuss was all about. And who can forget the Allman Brothers.

I am surprised that you can remember so much.

The day you learn that laughing is a very important part of life.

The day your daughter becomes a grandmother and you know in you mind you are only 21years old.

WOMEN WITH INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERIENCE,MEN WHO SUPPORT THEM AND COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY ALWAYS

PUMAS,BUBBAS,EQUALISTS AND THOSE PEOPLE RULE

The day your husband looks at after years of marriage and says “I love you” and your heart melts all over again.

The day someone you vaguely remember walks up to you and says “Thank You” and makes you feel you’re you’re not so bad after all.

The day I looked into my granddaughter’s eyes and realized that maybe, just maybe, a piece of the best of me will live on and I feel grateful.

These are The Days of My Life.

PS. Awesome post. Bravo.

What I am today is made up of every ancestor who lived and died. Some were the most evil who ever lived,they imparted the instinctive knowledge to recognize evil and avoid it. Others were called saints, they gave me the understanding that some things pious are not Godly. Some are in unmarked graves, they have passed to me wisdom I have yet to find. Duty and love of country came my way by warriors, both leaders and followers. My serious side my beloved Grandfather , my laughter from Daddy. Love of God and Jesus Christ came as a gift. The understanding that good and the bad dwell in each of us came from everyone of them….. and so go the days of my life.