Wave Hello

Just keep going, and don’t look back

And look forward from where you’re at

There’s some jealousy in your rearview

Wave hello, hello, hello…

Push that pedal to the max

Count that money that’s in your lap

There’s some jealousy in your rearview

Hello, hello, hello…

-“Hello” T.I. ft. Cee Lo Green

Greetings folks and welcome to another edition of “The Diplomat’s Report”. Last week, I commemorated my 100^th blog post with a special introspective look at my life through the lens of this blog. I reviewed 99 posts before constructing #100 in an attempt to remind myself of where I started, to see where I am and to better ascertain where I am going. It was both enlightening and scary to compare where I started with where I am now, but I must admit that taking this introspective look evoked a personal feeling of pride.  Often times, many of us speak about growth and being better but what is our barometer? How do you really know that you’ve grown? What is the measuring stick for determining that we’re taller, emotionally speaking, than we were before? For me, it’s my blog. Looking over my blog served as a means to see what I wrote about over the course of more than 2 years and I’m proud to say I can see the growth.

During the first one hundred posts of this blog I’ve experienced heartache, heartbreak, love, triumph, defeat, success, anger, anguish, misery, depression, joy and pain. I’ve been lied on, lied to, talked about and mistreated; I’ve also been wronged and I’ve wronged others as well. Finally, I can honestly say that during this process I’ve picked up my share of haters too. There are so many songs, catch phrases and sayings about haters but what do we do with them and, better yet, what do we do with the hate? Unlike some people, I believe both the hater and the hate serve a purpose.

In his critically acclaimed song “Stay” Nas said, “some hatin’ is confused admiration.” For someone to take the time out of their lives to hate and hate on you means that you have something they want. No matter how “tore up from the floor up” your life may be there is something that you have, possess, or exude that illicits envy from someone else. It may be your significant other or your spouse, your car, your house, your well-behaved children, your impeccable sense of style, or your ability to glide on top of Lake Bullsh*t while you’re furiously paddling beneath it like a duck. All the while, you’re struggling to pay bills, you’re riding to and from work on fumes, your kid just got put out of school, your brother or sister has a drug problem and your good-for-nothing partner is driving you up a wall. No matter how dystopic your life may be on the inside, someone still finds a reason to be jealous of what you show on the outside.

Congratulations, you have mastered the art of “faking it til you make it”. Not everything will be perfect and things won’t always go our way. Sometimes our money will be funny, although the landlord won’t be laughing. At times we may be starving but the refrigerator may be empty and our bank accounts too. If you’ve learned how to pretend to be happy, if you’ve learned how to fake contentment, and if you’ve learned how to smile in the midst of the storm, maybe you’re just crazy enough to believe that eventually everything will be alright.

No person, place, or thing on God’s green earth is perfect including you, yours, me and mine. We must come to grips with this imperfection and live life accordingly. That doesn’t mean you should be content with calamity or ok with anarchy. No, it means being satisfied with doing your best on your quest for greatness and knowing that no matter how hard you try, perfection is unattainable but that you’re going to keep striving for it anyway.

The journey is long, arduous and filled with trials and tribulations. The road is filled with potholes, ditches, trolls and faulty bridges. The weather won’t always be great but there is relief. When you see a hater say “Hey, how you doing?” and take it as a sign that while your world may be far from anything resembling Disney Land, you know you’re doing well enough to be hated. Take solace in the fact that while you may be hurting on the inside that joy that you exhibit on the outside is causing others to lose their minds. From these things we should garner encouragement to keep going. Use the haters as fuel to power your dreams.

No matter how steep the mountain is, keep climbing. No matter how daunting the task may be, keep going. No matter how much you may be talked about, ridiculed and abused, keep pushing. Keep pushing and don’t look back and just wave hello at the haters as you pass them by. Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!