It's a little strange, so bear with me, but I consider it to be a personal, pseudo-corporeal hamlet, encompassing my coveted, yet oh-so elusive ethereal safe place.
This desired safe haven I call Copacettica.
Yes, I gather that most of you have noticed the moniker in my last few posts.
It's a derivation of one of my favorite words in the English language, along with Shit (yes, I be so juvenile), Copacetic (also copasetic; copesetic).
Copacetic [koh-puh-set-ik]- very satisfactory; OK. When things are going well, they're copacetic. This includes a range of meanings from "just fine" to "excellent". For a brief, albeit ambiguous, history of the word, click here.
I've been hip to this word for years, having first heard it in the early '90s while working for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Thing is, I choose to employ the term very rarely lest I grow tired of it.
A few weeks ago, while obsessing over one of several distressing complications in my life, I found myself fantasizing the remote possibility of an actual place, or town, where everything is always "good to go". In no more than the blink of an eye, the word Copacettica rolled off of my tongue. The suffix -ica was subconsciously obvious because of America, Africa, Utica, Jamaica, etc....
You get the idea.
Once the realization of how cool the word sounded to me I started to toy with the tangibility of such a place. Then it hit me: Copacettica can be, in fact can really ONLY be, where one happens to be at the moment things are perceived as being excellent and/or doggone good to go!
Copacettica is literally EVERYWHERE...YET! (and this is a BIG YET)..., it's NOWHERE AT ALL.
That's where the individual, and his or her spiritual contact with God comes in. If you can triumphantly "let go and let God", then you, my friend, are There.
Now, I don't know about you, but I find that just the very thought of me sauntering the shores of my D. C. (District of Cooper), merely by turning my chaos over to God, very comforting.
Take a moment to let it sink in.
I know
That I'll be good to go,
By quashing my desire
To run the show.
I have to be willing to relinquish control. Wait...that doesn't really make any sense being that my perception of control, or the very idea that I'm in charge, is really just an illusion. The more I attempt to impose my will upon the world to do my bidding, the more fear, disappointment and resentment I'm going to bear.
And any drunk that has been around awhile can surely attest to the destructive nature of just a single resentment. When we harbor resentment, we drink again....
But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feeling we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die. pg. 66
I hope this writing doesn't come off as an indicator that I'm ready for the Padded Palace. As silly as it may be, this process of "placing" myself in a state of surrender is much more preferable than the alternative. The obsession is gone and the physical craving a dim memory.
I wish I could say that my visits to my private burg are frequent and extended, but they are not. I still battle, internally, with letting go and letting God. It isn't a faith or trust issue, but seems to be that tiresome issue of ego. There are specific concerns in my life that seem to incite the innate process of "righting that what is wrong", and the recipients of the aforementioned intractable tendencies are my daughter and my wife.
I just can't help it.
But as I keep saying, it is getting better. It is getting easier to turn it over completely.
But, as of right now? I am definitely within the walls of Copacettica.
Lets make 'em laugh today-
coop
Hey it's cool to give that place a name! My son calls his "Moo-golia" because he's obsessed with cows. Haha Just remember Coop, you're not alone. Humans are naturally egotistical...it is real work to "let go and let God". It's a choice we make...sometimes a very difficult one. We're promised though, that if we do relinquish control, we'll be able to truly experience the peace and love that God wants us to experience. Sometimes that's all we can do when we want our loved ones to reach that happy place we know exists (even if we can't see it, we want THEM to see it!) I know I am the most miserable when the people I love are suffering. Wishing you more time in Copacettica.
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