No shite, no roses ...

Strange phrase I heard this morning, thanks to Glen Hansard … and a phrase that you can view from a number of different perspectives. All depending on how you want to approach your life and your perspective of the world around you. It is definitely a phrase that will be added to my repertoire, given the events of my life over the past few years … and the past few hours.

Think about the simplicity of that statement “No shite, no roses” … as Hansard explained his perspective on it – out of crazy shite can come some great things. After all, “you gotta fer’ilize ‘em wit’ some’in.” While Glen was talking about a recent death and tragedy, those thoughts apply to life in general. Sometimes, when life is looking pretty rough and things may have taken a turn for the worse, you have to use that in order to get something better or beautiful to grow in its place. 

But, like growing those proverbial roses, you have to put in time and sweat into getting them to grow and flourish. Weeding, watering, pruning, making sure there is proper/sufficient sun for growth are all required to make any plant (flower or otherwise) grow. Can you tell I’ve spent a little time in the yard recently with someone who has an incredibly green thumb?

The same is true in life … the past couple of years, I have had shite thrown at me from a few different directions and sources. While it has (at times) been difficult to avoid giving in and being buried, I have persevered and put in the work to make something grow. Whether it has been difficulties from my divorce, to the loss of my old man, to set backs at work, I have persevered through each – working to take that shite, put it on/in the ground and fertilize more roses in my life.

It’s far too easy to give up, to give in to the pressure and let someone else win “Best in Show”. I know, because I have been there, more than once in my life. However, I have found that I don’t do too well when I give in – it tends to be a cascading effect and things go from bad to worse. While things in life don’t always turn around on a dime, going from bad to great, trust and perseverance make that a better possibility than doing nothing at all.

So, as I look at my news from work this morning … hearing that I am not leaving processing, the job that I despise, in favor of a position in underwriting, an opportunity I was working for and looking forward to … I turn to that phrase, timely and unexpected in its delivery to me this morning, and see how it relates to me. Going back to the job I dislike is shite dumped on me again, so I will take a moment, catch my breath, pack up my shovel and look to see where I can plant and grow some roses … or maybe another hibiscus. That jade of me is far too small, I think it needs to grow some more this winter …