God and Shug Avery

At times, I have felt lost.  Lost in that bizarre place that we go to with our dogs.  It is hard for me to remember what it is like there when I am well, but whenever I go back it's like I never left.  When I see the world now, I can see everything.  I can see that there are good things and bad things.  I can take joy in the good things I see, and I can accept the bad things for what they are.  When the dog is leading you and all you can see is that, the good things are not there.  It is not enough to say that you cannot see them, because you know in all certainty that they are not there, they never were, and they never will be.  You are in a world where good things do not exist.  I have been to that place many times, but I am not there now.

I say I am not there now, and that is enough for me.  I cannot say I will never go there again, in all likelihood I will.  The dog may be sleeping now, but he is always with me.  He can wake up at any time.  What is important is that I appreciate the times when I am living in the normal world, where there are good things.

In The Color Purple by Alice Walker, there is a wonderful page or so where the characters discuss God, and Shug Avery says,
 "I think it pisses God off if you walk by the colour purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it"
Now I don't know that there is a God, but I agree with Shug.  There are good things all around us in this world where the dog sleeps, and for us not to notice them is a crime.  We suffer, and when we do we feel it in every cell of our bodies.  All we can do is try to feel the good things in the same way.  I try to appreciate the good things when I see them, because if I can see them then things can't be that bad.