Jimmy V was right

Very often, something gets me riled up, excited at some newborn thoughts that rattle around in my stomach or brain with little regard for how I'm going to sleep that night.

Driving home from Florida in a mad dash to hit the polls for this November's election, I lost my mind contemplating the issues, wondering if it was going to be four more years of policy I wasn't too keen on, or a new day rising, a Wednesday like none I've seen.

Which candidate you supported does not matter, and only time will tell if our nation made the correct choice. What I'm interested in is how failure is often a bigger foe to our ambition than sloth could ever be.

After the Kerry/Edwards ticket fell, so did my hopes, and not simply as a liberal or as a democrat. I'm a kid who does what he can to keep a level of passion in everything he does, that same feeling in my stomach driving me toward my next goal.

So when something I support and work for, whether it's a band, a team, a newspaper or a campaign falls short in what seems quite probable success, I deflate. That Wednesday, I remember encouraging friends with talk of, "We can't stop here," or "Don't let this discourage you next time," but as much as I knew that was the next step and the right attitude, my heart and hopes had all but halted.

There are nights when I drive home, haunted by missteps and jolted by impossible ideas and action. Days of inaction leave me sick at night, and nights filled with accomplishment only make me regret moments wasted on hesitation.

It leaves an unremarkable taste in my mouth.

The key is to make sure those moments are short-lived. For the love of democracy, just yesterday the Supreme Court ruled against sentencing minors to death. Sure, we aren't exactly leading the way, what with the liberty loving Somalian government being the only authority in the world down with terror for tots, but we're making strides.

Sound it out with me: Ci-vil Lib-er-ties.

It's absolutely necessary to grant yourself moments of weakness. It's okay to be ticked off when some unoriginal robot is promoted for endorsing the company line. It's fine to get angry when you witness a double standard.

But don't let these moments shut you down. Don't let complaining and helplessness replace your vigor.

So many people find themselves in the undesirable position of failing at something they are passionate about. Maybe it's a rejection to law school, or a lack of job mobility, or being trapped in a situation you aren't sure you're comfortable in, but letting that flame flicker out is as deadly as aiming your Super Soaker at power lines.

While chewing aluminum foil in a lightning-driven monsoon.

We lose our passion at any failure, so heated and ready to excel that this setback knocks us flat on our backs. In these precious few moments, we take our desire for granted. We take our will and our opportunity to change for the better for granted.

We take each other for granted.

If it's any consolation, I take breathing, salad, Bob Seger, walking, man-to-man defense, my vocal cords and citrus fruits for granted as well as many other blessings.

And I know I'm not alone.

When I sat down to write this column, I felt down and depressed. How was I supposed to brim with optimism and express that to others when all I wanted to do was sleep until May? How can I pump out a full page of hope when I had to challenge myself to pull myself off the ground?

The answer lied in recognizing my extended hand from the mess below.