Disclaimer: The following blog post is one of my rare, serious musings. If you're looking for cute videos of toddlers and dogs, click along to previous posts.
Today I read a quote by Stephen King in his novel Duma Key that stopped me in my tracks. Made me go back and read it again. Ponder it. Then read it one more time. At first I liked it for its humor. Then I loved it for its unabashed truth. He says,
"Life is like a Friday on a soap opera. It gives you the illusion that everything is going to wrap up, and then the same old sh*t starts up on Monday."
When I came home and read this quote to David, he wasn't amused. I thought he would appreciate the humor of it because he always made fun of me for watching Days of Our Lives back in the day [I have since abstained from soap operas but, admittedly, have shifted my addiction to reality TV shows]. Anyway, he often commented a person could watch one episode a week and not miss a beat. Or turn it on again after a month and still know exactly what was going on. He's right, of course; soap operas aren't known for their fast-paced storytelling. And that's why I thought he would at least smirk at King's voice of comedic truth.
Instead, his reaction was, "Wow, Dana, that's a really pessimistic view of seeing the world." And he looked at me with disappointment.
Huh. I hadn't even thought of it that way.
That quote stayed with me the rest of the day, and it certainly had the opposite affect on me as it did on David. Granted, I do tend to view things more negatively than he does [Thanks Grandma; pretty sure I get that from you]. I call it being a realist; he calls it being a pessimist. But it got me thinking: why was I so taken with that quote if it was, in fact, so pessimistic?
And it came to me, easily. I didn't think of it in a negative way; I thought of it as a hard truth; a scary truth; the kind of truth you accept or reject right out. Not everything in life is rainbows and roses. You might get rainbows and roses on Friday, and by Monday you could just as easily have thunderstorms and sticker bushes. It's the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows, that keep us going. And if you believe, as I do, that we're here for a purpose and He watches over us, well, those thunderstorms and sticker bushes start to lose a lot of their ugliness.
Without the ugly things in life, the beautiful things lose their greatness.
If it wasn't for the same sh*t on Monday, Friday would be nothing to get that excited about.
And if we lived our lives at the top of the peaks, and never saw or felt or experienced those valleys, then we'd truly be missing out on the blessings — big and small — that reveal themselves to us every day. If I didn't cry, laughter wouldn't feel so good. If I didn't get wet on rainy days, I wouldn't appreciate the warmth on my skin on sunny days. If I didn't have bad days at work, I wouldn't appreciate the hugs and kisses that give me relief when I get home.
Living with the illusion that there is a finality to things, that our pains and sorrows will one day wrap up to be passed over and forgotten for something better — or at least newer — is sadder to me than seeing the glass half empty. I know, on Friday, that Monday is right around the corner. It's in the front of my mind and I don't even try to pretend it won't come. That sounds like a real Debbie Downer way of thinking, I know. To me, though, it's an opportunity to relish in the good that Friday brings because that's where I feel His presence. It's my faith that He is there to get me through those Mondays — no matter what they bring or how long they last — that make me unafraid to face them head on. I don't have a problem facing the sh*t on Monday because He will see me through 'til Friday, and that's when I get to be re-energized by His love and the blessings He has laid before me.
I appreciate the ugly just as much as the beautiful. Without one, the other loses all meaning and purpose. And, in my opinion, the purpose of it all — the joy, the sorrow, the thrill, the pain, the love, the heartache — is to feel Him working in us and through us and around us and for us. That's the kind of faith I carry with me. And it's what keeps me going....at least until Saturday.
And it came to me, easily. I didn't think of it in a negative way; I thought of it as a hard truth; a scary truth; the kind of truth you accept or reject right out. Not everything in life is rainbows and roses. You might get rainbows and roses on Friday, and by Monday you could just as easily have thunderstorms and sticker bushes. It's the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows, that keep us going. And if you believe, as I do, that we're here for a purpose and He watches over us, well, those thunderstorms and sticker bushes start to lose a lot of their ugliness.
Without the ugly things in life, the beautiful things lose their greatness.
If it wasn't for the same sh*t on Monday, Friday would be nothing to get that excited about.
And if we lived our lives at the top of the peaks, and never saw or felt or experienced those valleys, then we'd truly be missing out on the blessings — big and small — that reveal themselves to us every day. If I didn't cry, laughter wouldn't feel so good. If I didn't get wet on rainy days, I wouldn't appreciate the warmth on my skin on sunny days. If I didn't have bad days at work, I wouldn't appreciate the hugs and kisses that give me relief when I get home.
Living with the illusion that there is a finality to things, that our pains and sorrows will one day wrap up to be passed over and forgotten for something better — or at least newer — is sadder to me than seeing the glass half empty. I know, on Friday, that Monday is right around the corner. It's in the front of my mind and I don't even try to pretend it won't come. That sounds like a real Debbie Downer way of thinking, I know. To me, though, it's an opportunity to relish in the good that Friday brings because that's where I feel His presence. It's my faith that He is there to get me through those Mondays — no matter what they bring or how long they last — that make me unafraid to face them head on. I don't have a problem facing the sh*t on Monday because He will see me through 'til Friday, and that's when I get to be re-energized by His love and the blessings He has laid before me.
I appreciate the ugly just as much as the beautiful. Without one, the other loses all meaning and purpose. And, in my opinion, the purpose of it all — the joy, the sorrow, the thrill, the pain, the love, the heartache — is to feel Him working in us and through us and around us and for us. That's the kind of faith I carry with me. And it's what keeps me going....at least until Saturday.
Categories: matters of the mind
WOW............A lot of deep thought and very well written.
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