On Hanging Out In Cemeteries... And Being Potentially Creepy.

Yesterday was one of  "those days" in a very bad way. I woke up in a terrible mood, which almost never happens to me. Don't get me wrong, I get in bad moods from time to time (almost always involving my job), but they are caused by something specific. Again, that something is almost always related to my job. Yesterday I just woke up grumpy. I tried blasting music on my way to work and singing. No luck. I drank extra coffee and piggybacked that with a 5 Hour Energy at lunch. No luck. I made it a point to leave on time for once. Even that did not have an effect. So I decided to bring out the big guns: get my camera and head to Greenlawn Cemetery. I even brought a mobile cocktail because the day just called for it. 

Cemeteries have always had a very profound effect on me. I swear I can feel the energy there in the air. The feeling of being overwhelmed by something that is so much larger than you or what you can grasp is very grounding. Although the magnolia trees have now lost all of their flowers, there are still plenty of other living, blooming things that add of the quiet peace and beauty. I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the entire place last night and had a good hour and a half to walk around with my camera. My mood change was almost instantaneous; as soon as I stepped out of my car and felt the air everything just shifted. 

I guess what gets me about being there (aside from the peace and beauty and calm) is just this astounding realization that this is where we all end up, regardless of what we accomplish or how much money we make or how many people love or hate us. It reiterates the fact that we have a pretty short window to be here and we are the only ones who decide how we want to spend it. I come across a lot of greedy and self-entitled people during my days, people who think they are better than everyone else for no real reason at all. I try not to let it get to me, but sometimes it's hard. And what is the point in acting that way? What gives them the right? It's so dumb to me because we all end up in the same place. Why not spend your time appreciating everything: people, nature, sunshine, a hot shower, a warm bed, animals... once you stand in a cemetery and start thinking about stuff like that, it make it pretty damn near impossible to be in a reasonless bad mood and kind of reminds you where you stand. 

Then to top it all off, I got Chipotle for dinner. Bad day = OVER.