This is a follow up blog to “What’s It All About?” posted on March 21^st.

I opened my front door and there he was…

“It’s your Long Lost Cousin, again,” he proclaimed.

My cousin came “funeral marching” in, singing:

“Is that all there is? Is that all there is?

If that’s all there is, my friends,

then let’s keep dancing,

lets break out the booze and have, a ball,

if that’s all, there is!”

“You’re singing another song today?”

My LLC had a grim look on his face.

“The lyrics are scary and I’m disillusioned. Birth, a period in between, then death, is that all there is?”

“Oh cousin, you’re trying to figure out another profound question. Remember, it’s that period in between that’s important.”

“Do you ever think about disillusionment?”

“My dear LLC, of course I think about it, as I’ve said before, I’m a WRITER!”

“What is the point of striving and struggling when life is so short and death so final? I feel like I’m in a rut.”

“Relax cousin, you must try to get out of that rut because the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth!”

LLC looked at me wide-eyed!

I continued: “As long as you’re living you want to grow. Striving is part of growth. The good life is full of positive change and growth.”

“What do you mean?”

“Change and growth are part of being human, so is living your life creatively and productively.”

LLC was rolling his eyes.

“Listen cousin, your happiness is the harmony between you and the life you lead. This harmony is achieved by doing things that contribute to society and doing things that you do best.”

“Oh, I get it, I created my own recipe for meatloaf. So now, everyone that I make it for, loves it. I’m happy, they’re happy! I’ve put the recipe on the internet, now I’ve left something for the world, my legacy! I’ve got satisfaction and meaning in my life.”

“I think you’re beginning to get the gist of this. You are also constantly experimenting with new recipes, so you are growing.”

“Oh cousin, you always make me feel better!”

“We all are on a journey, a quest, for meaning. There is creative meaning: where we give ourselves to the world, through our creative efforts, in my case, my writings, in your case, your recipes. We can also strive for positive attitudes towards situations that are out of our control, like our death!”

“If you can survive death, I guess you can probably survive anything,” my cousin was laughing out loud, now.

I smiled and said: “My wonderful LLC, I can always count on you to lighten things up.”

LLC was beaming from ear to ear.

“Finally, have you heard of the happiness and great pleasure of Disillusionment?”

“No, I haven’t. That’s a very odd phrase.”

“Well, when you asked, is that all there is, you had an illusion of some pie in the sky wonderful life. Now, the word “dis-illusion” means NOT to be deceived by illusion. You need to think about what is REAL, a rational view of things. So, disillusionment actually can be a positive motivator.”

“That makes sense to me, cousin.”

“Now, get out of here and I don’t want to see you “funeral marching” around again!”

“Don’t worry, I’m going to avoid funerals, I’m NOT A MORNING PERSON!”