Just over a year ago my life took a sudden and unexpected turn. This happens from time-to-time. Either we get our lives rocked by the profound moments of discovery in ourselves, or we experience subtle changes that compound into big movement. I call these moments the twist.
My twist came just over one-year ago. Many think they know the whole story, but really you only know what the media or the rumour mill told you. So here it goes … my twist.
In December of 2015 I was asked to run for political office. By January I had my decision, by February I was working on my campaign, on March 1st I announced, and on March 2nd I resigned my candidacy. The story goes that I announced, the NDP (competition) sold me as a misogynist, and my party did not support me. There were literally thousands of people against me, and thousands that supported. Each of them made a similar statement when I was approached, “You must really hate the NDP and Rana Bokhari (Liberal Party leader), huh?”
I found their position entertaining and sad, but no matter what, my response was always the same, “I don’t hate the NDP or Rana. They’re politicians, so you can expect them to be pieces of shit in moments like that. It’s in the job description. I don’t actually hate anyone, but I am disappointed in humans.”
Many will take issue with that statement, but this is my blog, my life script, and I can say whatever I would like. See, I was getting into the spotlight of politics (after years of being behind the scenes) because I had thought a new day was upon us in the political world. Boy, was I wrong. The cess pool of deprave lunatics making poor decisions is only getting deeper.
The Liberals knew about my past as a comedy writer, sex and relationships author, club promoter, and profanity fueled Jamie from the Block (so to speak), but they acted like they didn’t and pushed back (too hard) when the media came at them. It was the political thing to do.
The NDP called me on my shit, even if they got it all wrong. Those orange scumbags went after the competition (me) and won. It was the political thing to do.
I can’t be anymore mad at them than I can be for the government cutting essential resources in Manitoba, or Trump pulling out of the Paris Agreement. All are the political things to do.
Humans are the real problem. I’ll explore this more in my book (Democracy 2.0 or The Perfect Politician … we don’t have a title yet), but the Cole’s Notes version is that humans breed these politicians, humans don’t care about context, humans only care about the headlines, humans are hypocrites, and humans love scandal. It didn’t matter what I said after the headlines hit, even though there was a perfectly good explanation for what had transpired. Humans just sat there and pretended that we’re all kids with ear muffs; like profanity is something to be ashamed of. Humans twist words to fit their narrative at the moment (God damn it people, look up the meaning of a word before you use it). Humans sit at home and pretend they understand something so that they can provide commentary. Humans are reporters.
Using the word whore in reference to a hooker is not misogyny anymore than me calling a guy a “son of a bitch” is a hate statement against his mother. Swearing is not sin, swearing a false oath is. But that doesn’t matter because humans want to pretend their politicians are perfect and that they are as well. I’ll save you the suspense—you’re not; they’re not. I’ve seen the social media posts by many of my detractors since, and some have posted much worse shit than I ever did. I am likely to never run again because without context no conversation matters, and the current system rewards those who are fake, while worrying about the inconsequential instead of ideas.
But that wasn’t the end of the disaster that was 2016. Oh no. It got so much worse. Because of the scandal I lost my company for a moment there, I had to move to get away from the press and trolls, then I broke my back in an accident within the year of the scandal.
For 3 weeks I laid paralyzed in bed, and then for nearly a year I experienced 24/7 stabbing pain that left me crawling to bed at times. When I did our annual Fear event, it was all I could do to stay standing. The pain was a 20 on a scale of 10. A doctor told me he had no idea how I was even walking, and that inside of a decade (unless drastic steps were taken) I would be confined to a wheelchair.
A few months after the injury, my relationship ended. In the middle of all that I lost 2 friends tragically and my health was a disaster.
So there I was, broke and broken—hundreds of thousands of dollars in the hole, with the possibility of permanent paralysis.
Then, the second twist. I decided to not dwell on the past, and just push forward without more than 3 days of self-pity. Today, my company thrives, and we’ve even acquired some new one’s, I underwent stem cell surgeries meaning I no longer feel pain every second of every day, and I rediscovered what it’s like to appreciate someone of the opposite sex in ways I didn’t expect.
I moved, I journeyed, I stopped paying attention to anyone that had anything less than constructive to say.
This may sound strange, but I’m happy that events happened the way they did. Without those events I could have been stuck pandering to bullshit artists in the government. Anyone that knows me, knows that would not have gone over well. Without those events I would have never discovered a better way to do business and live my life. Without those events I wouldn’t have figured out who my true friends and supporters are. And, without those events what comes next would have never been possible. Best believe, there’s a lot coming next. ;)
So, why write this? I want you to understand that life is a fucking rollercoaster. There’s up’s and down’s, cliffs behind corners, and sometimes the whole damn thing goes off the tracks. That’s not what life is about though; it’s about how you respond (that’s the twist). The clock keeps ticking regardless of whether you move forward or live in the past. Time waits for no one so make sure you’re moving in a direction you won’t regret. When you’re 212 years old (life extension drugs are coming) do you really want to be sitting there talking about who you could have been? I doubt it.
Death, destruction, and debt followed me around like a shadow, and I could have quite easily faltered as a result. I didn’t, and now I appreciate life so much more. Humans, I’m taking that on a case-by-case basis, but as I lay here under the night sky near the border of Nevada and California I can’t help but appreciate that out of despair and ignorance I got here to feel what real peace is all about.
Find your peace, and manipulate those twists to your favour. That’s how I’m not a broke paraplegic, scared to go outside and confront the other humans. If you’re reading this, I hope you’re also absorbing it. You’re going to be confronted with painful events and choices, and I hope this blog helps you understand that the only way to respond is with vigor and force … making life your bitch!