I’ve been fan of Marc Maron’s WTF podcast for years. I appreciate his candor in discussing personal struggles with depression, creativity, consciousness building, career expectations, self-loathing and self-destructive tendencies because I’ve experienced, and continue to experience, many of these same struggles in life.
At the end of the December, he interviewed comedian Bill Burr. It wasn’t the interview that stuck with me… it was the preamble about reflection and the anticipation of a new year. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks now. I’ve transcribed those few opening minutes below, edited for clarity:
“There’s gotta be some gratitude. There’s gotta be some self acceptance. Give yourself a break. Don’t hurt yourself tonight. It’s a little recovery trick– make a gratitude list… But maybe just reflect a little bit on what you might do differently but also what you’re grateful for. And if you have love in your heart, or in your life, be fucking thankful for that… if you’re capable of that and it exists within you. Maybe things will turn out better– globally, politically, financially for you or whatever, but strip it all away. Fuck politics, you know, fuck the world, fuck your money problems. Fuck your broken heart. And just find that little bit of space within yourself that is truly you, and give it a little pat on its little head and say, ‘we’re okay and there are a lot of things in life that make it amazing.'”
Transcribed, it’s a little less than poetry. With Maron, it’s always about the delivery anyway.
I haven’t made my gratitude list yet. I’m not quite there. I’ve been too busy, literally, to think things through. It’s an intentional, manic busy-ness. It may be a coping mechanism, but for now, that’s what I can do. It’s all I can do. And that’s okay.
Just keep driving, miles upon miles, mending old wounds opened once again.
