Grue Monday

 

Featuring the art of Jim Grue. Click any image to visit his site.

 

Suggested Audio Candy:

 

[1] New Order “Blue Monday”

[2] The Boomtown Rats “I Don’t Like Mondays”

[3] The Bangles “Manic Monday”

 

They call it Monday Motivation and I make them right. You see, I just woke up after a particularly challenging few days, feeling tired and in desperate need of inspiration. With my morning caffeine fix in hand, I took my seat in the usual position, all set for a day much like the last. Then I took a look at my WordPress and noticed I had a new comment on a piece I posted a week or so back and instantly the thick grey clouds above my head lifted. In around a hundred or so words, my day had been made, and it’s the whole reason I am writing this now. You see, the simplest of gestures can mean so much, and I’m forever thankful for every last one that comes my way. People generally know me pretty well by now and it is no secret that positivity is something I always promote openly. However, that’s not to say that I’m always full of the joys of Spring. Some days it is a struggle just to lift my head from the pillow and I know I’m not alone with this one as we all have our personal battles and heartbreaks to cope with.

Last night I posted a piece called The Leading Man Nobody Knew and, if you inspect this closely, there are hints of any melancholy I was feeling when I scribed it. By finding a way to channel this into prose in a manner which won’t depress the hell out of everyone who gives it their precious time, I work through any sadness and locate light through my own darkness. Writing is a glorious tool for this and I only ever want to use this to spread good feeling. It’s the reason why comedy plays such a monumental part in my work; anything to share some smiles as that makes me an accessory to said joy and I love to be right in the thick of it. If you have followed my flight of fancy since the beginning then you will know that many of my darkest hours have been chronicled during that time. The winter of 2013, in particular, was a horrendous time and my desolation hasn’t been exclusive to this two month period either. There were occasions when I bled out my angst in an attempt to keep myself afloat as I was sinking fast. I urge you to visit the Articles link on the homepage and scroll to Teetering or click the link at the tail-end of this article as that is but one particularly potent example.

In short, I was all set to throw in the towel, figuratively speaking of course. My hope was all but vanquished and this was my final throw of the dice as an overriding part of me just felt like giving up. Somehow I had to convince myself that it all meant something and, mercifully, an anecdote was on hand to bail me out in the eleventh hour. You all know how much I adore digging back into my past and recalling an instance that still brings a smile to my face years later. One such moment was on hand and I somehow managed to turn a bad set of circumstances into a workable one. On that particularly frosty November evening, I peered down into the infinite abyss, and saw precisely what it was offering. However, what is far more pleasing to recall, are the shuffling steps I took away from the ledge. I was way past looking out for a sign at that point and knew that I had to make my own.

However, this wasn’t as solo an excursion as I believed. The response I received was unanimous and it turned out that many others knew only too well about the exercise I had just partaken in. Granted, our circumstances may have been vastly different at the time, but it was relatable and therefore totally relevant. Being a part of something that I believed in, when belief was at a bare minimum, kept me topside. Knowing that it made a difference to those reading then pulled me away from the current. This wasn’t an isolated incident and there have been numerous times since where I have felt utterly despondent. But I refuse to pay that forward without offering an out, both for myself and my readership. Giving up is then never an option worth entertaining in the slightest and removed straight from the agenda.

I am blessed to know so many glorious people and have a direct line of communication to each of them through my prose. Being self-sufficient has always been something I have prided myself on but, the truth is, I cannot bear to feel lonely. The Grueheads give me purpose every day through each and every interaction, no matter how insignificant that may appear. You also keep me company when numbers would suggest that I’m very much flying solo. Right now I’m in the thick of it, rubbing shoulders with anyone who has taken the time to listen to me blather on, and that’s all the Monday Motivation I could ever need to hit the week running as opposed to stumbling. As a direct result, the word well opens up and there is no shortage of inspiration to draw from. I need this to truly excel in my craft as I’ve never professed to be a one-man army. Indeed, I am nothing without those I cherish, and the list is extensive.

It is the start of a new week and I have plans for the next seven days that are fueled by the simplest acts of kindness. Today one such gesture sparked my fuse and, while this may not be my most entertaining rant, there are times when the clown shoes needn’t be necessitated as I’m feeling more like hugging than tickling. Courtesy of goodwill, I have all the tools at my disposal to do my bit this week. Today alone I shall be releasing two posts which I am immensely excited about sharing and they’ll hopefully provide a fair few chuckles. Moreover, I shall endeavor to fill the following four days with suchlike gifts, and shine a light at every available opportunity. Should anyone be having a real slag pile of a day, then I wish to do everything in my power to turn the tide. I’m not Gandhi, just a disheveled bum with a Crimson Quill, but I do believe that I possess the necessary tools to empower others to smile away those grimaces. I get that belief from you and it is only ever in safe and loving hands.

I love Blue Monday by New Order and have no intention of calling it color blind while who has the right to tell Bob Geldof that he should like Mondays either? However, right now, it’s feeling like more of a Grue Monday. To those I interact with, no matter how briefly, I love every single last one of you, unconditionally to boot. You could kick calf feces in my face, trample my spleen, call me a wazzock, fart into both of my nostrils, pull my tongue taut and tie it to a badger’s tail, scoff my cheddar while my back is turned, post me a consignment of undernourished gnats, and poke my eyes out with a felt tip pen, and not a damn thing will change there. Life’s way too short not to forgive such tiny indiscretions right? Grue Monday it is then and I can’t think of a finer gaggle of geese to run around in circles with. Watch my beak as it has been known to wander and, cheeky blighter that I am, I’ll be blaming that shit on some other goose while whistling inconspicuously with feathers round my pecker. But I damn sure won’t be breaking formation.

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