Love Like Crazy ♥

Be a best friend
Tell the truth
And overuse "I love you"
And go to work
Do your best
Don't outsmart your common sense
Never let your prayin' knees get lazy
And love like crazy


This has got to be the best damn advice I have ever heard. My hat is off to Lee Brice for capturing in song the recipe for success and happiness. If more people followed this song as a model for how to live, we would have a perfect world.

At first glance, it doesn't seem remarkably profound, or even difficult. Be a best friend? Easy! I have tons of friends! Okay Mr. Popular. Have you ever been trapped in a place so dark and so alone, unable to find your own way out, until a friend came along to carry you, with a lantern to light your way? Have you ever been that beacon, that savior for somebody when they needed you most? Those are some mighty big boots to fill. Be that best friend, because you might need one someday when you least expect.


Tell the truth??? C'mon, that's obvious! Oh is it? Ever lied to your boss to get out of work? Lied to your parents to get out of trouble? Lied to a friend to stay in their good graces? Lied to yourself? I lied to my parents. Once. I got grounded from the car for a week. I have lied to myself a time or two, convincing myself of things that (clearly) were not so. I ended up in tears. And on the flip-side, I have been lied to by people I care about; honestly, I would rather someone spit in my face than lie to me. It is true what they say that the truth shall set you free. So tell the truth. And don't put up with people who don't.

Overuse "I love you"? It will lose its meaning and it gets old. Telling the special people in your life that you love them should never get old. You should love saying the L word so much that you can never get enough of it. I say "I love you" so many times a day, and yet (despite what some may have you believe) it never loses its meaning because I mean it every. single. time. If you don't mean it, maybe you should take a look in the mirror. Do you even love yourself? If not, how can you possibly have the clarity to love another? No one deserves to be on the short end of that stick. Say "I love you" until you are blue in the face... and then say it some more.

Go to work and do your best. Boring. You get what you give, my friend, you get what you give. Do your best and you get the best. Half-ass it and you will get half-assed in return. It's the Golden Rule, do unto others and whatnot. Don't sell yourself short, and don't short-change everyone else in the process.

Don't outsmart your common sense? What does that even mean? Let me help you out here. Sometimes we have a tendency to think we know better than... well... what it is we know. Remember when you were little and you did something wrong and mom and dad would say "you know better"? Well, the truth of that statement didn't stop with childhood. Even as adults, we make stupid choices. I know I do. Because at our age, we think we know better than everyone. "I'm the only one who has to live my life and I know what I need to be happy." I can give you that one. I sure as hell don't know what exactly you need, but I can usually make a pretty good guess; people are hard to figure out occasionally, but rarely are they impossible. But if you ever have the slightest gut instinct that it's not a good idea, an infinitesimal instinct even, it is probably not the best decision you will ever make. Let your common sense guide you, because if you think you know better than your instincts, you aren't going to get too far. That's how our species managed to make it this long: by not being stupid.

Never let your prayin' knees get lazy. I'm not into that. Okay, I can respect that. Once again, I reference the "trapped in a place so dark and so alone" scenario. Whether you are asking for help from your God/deity/spiritual leader or you feel like you are just asking rhetorical questions to yourself in the dark, that is praying. You don't have to ascribe to any system of belief to ask for help or to say "thank you." All you need is a little humility and an open mind to whatever presents itself, however it presents itself. Give thanks for what you have and don't be afraid to ask for help; it is not a sign of weakness but of strength and great character.

And love like crazy.