They Can't All Be Zingers is a greatest hits compilation album from the band Primus that came out in 2006. The title comes from a line from the stand-up act of comedian Neil Hamburger. This phrase has stuck with me throughout the years and when occasions arise that don't work out as planned I often think "oh well, they can't all be zingers".
Recently my husband and I decided to spend our day off at an area called Murdock Beach that is about a 40 mile drive from us. It was a cloudy and gloomy day with the forecast calling for 90% chance of rain, but we figured if you live in the Pacific Northwest, you either stay inside much of the year, or you do stuff in the rain. Being avid outdoor enthusiasts, we weren't going to let a little rain stop us from enjoying a day at the beach, so we loaded up the dogs, stopped and grabbed some burritos to go and headed to the beach. By the time we got to the state park the light drizzle that had been on and off all morning had turned into a steady rain. Oh well, we'd make the best of it we thought. After enjoying our burritos we set out down the trail to the beach area. We had been there before and had a wonderful time collecting jasper and watching great blue herons fish and swoop around. However, when we arrived down at the beach, the tide was in and there was nowhere to walk. We tried to go a little way along the edge of the shore, but is was wet and there was washed up kelp and slippery rocks all along making it very dangerous to travel. Back up the trail we went, wiped down the soaking wet dogs and loaded up to head back home. "Oh well, they can't all be zingers."
I had a reading recently with a client that I had read for many times before, but on this day the cocktail just wasn't mixed right. She was rapid firing questions at me and would discount my responses without taking a pause to see if it resonated with her or how it might relate to what she was asking. When doing animal communication and mediumship, I let the animal or Spirit convey what they would like to express and it can often be different than what the client would like to ask. Although I did get some "hits" during the reading I could feel my energy closing down and frustration setting in. I apologized that the reading wasn't as coherent as either of us would have liked and declined payment. "Oh well, they can't all be zingers."
Yesterday my husband and I drove across the Hood Canal to the larger towns on the other side. He had called a couple of different places to see if they would be interested in having me do
in-person readings at their locations. We had been told to come on by, so we printed up a promotional page and business card packet and stopped in. One of the places was responsive and I hope to hear back from them, the other however was awkward, uncomfortable and didn't seem interested, so we left. I image you are getting it by now..."they can't all be zingers". After we left we looked for a place that we could take the dogs out for a walk . We are always interested in checking out new places and it's a nice break from walking our usual neighborhood dog walk. We found a place called Manchester State Park. After walking through the forest and a trail along the shore we came across some old abandoned buildings, one of which had been turned into a picnic shelter. The large brick structure had been erected to store underwater mines, built in the early 1900's, but by 1910 the project had been mothballed and the building never used. Even for the U.S. military they can't all be zingers.
So what do you do in the face of disappointment? Whether it is disappointment in a situation, a job, a relationship, a person or a stage in life I feel that there is something to be learned or gained. It can be a simple lesson like check the tide table before going to the beach, as in the first story. It can be to stand up for yourself and know your boundaries and what works for you, as in the second story. My client was asking me to work in a way that does not work for me and the result was disappointment for the the both of us. I know now to express how I work to my clients beforehand and to express to them what to expect from me even if I have worked with them before. Sometimes the takeaway is just to find whatever enjoyment you can out of the situation and to be grateful that you are alive to learn and to grow, to experience and to evolve. With every dark night comes the rising sun, with every tide that is in it must go out again, and with every end there is a beginning. It is good that they all can't be zingers, otherwise how else would we recognize a zinger when it happens?
The photos in this post were taken of the abandoned buildings at Manchester State Park.
