One of life's great truths is no matter what happens, life goes on. Like all great truths packaged into an aphorism, Life Goes On has become a cliché, but it is true, nonetheless. \nBut as true as it is, sometimes that concept feels like an impossibility. There are days when it feels like life shouldn't go on -- days when people die, relationships end, problems pile up and you can't understand how the rest of the world can just continue on with the daily grind.\nIn a very practical way, life goes on because responsibilities and circumstances that have nothing to do with your own problems do not go away. Most people do their best to accommodate you, but school won't be canceled because you have to attend a funeral. Anyone who's ever known someone who died knows the sudden guilt that comes with feeling the least bit inconvenienced by a death. As potentially insensitive as it might be, there's no way around crying in Synagogue, feeling absolutely sad and devastated and at the same time wondering how in the hell you're ever going to finish the research paper due Monday. As brief as that moment may be, it's impossible to ignore, and it only grows, compounding your already long list of concerns. You mourn over the death and then worry about the paper and then think of yourself as selfish for worrying about the paper while mourning the death.\nThese kinds of conflicting thoughts and feelings are natural, and to me, they are part of what makes being a human being so confusing, painful, exhilarating and wonderful all at once. Even while dealing with death, I can't ignore the outside circumstances that force me to think about other problems --I can only worry about that which I can control.\nAlong with the practical side, there are the more emotional and spiritual ways life goes on because learning how to live is all about learning how to embrace change while appreciating what you've had in the past. People die, relationships end, problems arise and life goes on, not just because it has to, but hopefully because you're able to find a reason to continue enjoying it.\nThat can be hard to do sometimes. It's hard to find a balance between handling your own problems and having the perspective to recognize the legit weight of those problems. I'm currently dealing with a situation with a girl I met about a month ago. I'll be going to camp for the summer and then home to Chicago while she'll be going somewhere for grad school next year. I'm sad to think a good relationship could be over in a few months due to outside circumstances, but then I consider the situation of a good buddy of mine whose four-year relationship with his girlfriend recently ended. There's no doubt he's having a rougher time with it than I am, and so I downplay my own feelings. But that's silly -- my friend could do the same by comparing his situation to that of a long-time married man who gets divorced, while that man could compare his situation to that of a long-time married man whose wife dies, and so on.\nSo what do I do? Ignore my emotions or overly dwell in them? I guess all I can do is take hold of whatever's in my control and honestly deal with my feelings while trying to keep a sense of the big picture and appreciating all that I have. Clichéd? I suppose. But then, so is life.
REMINDER FROM THE JOHN: Smell the cold cuts in your fridge before eating them.
