And just like that, the first Friday of February 2021 is here. I keep writing 2020 on things. This happens every year around this time, but I seem to be doing it a little more. I think we are all still trying to shake off the past year. And with good reason. What a long, strange, scary, bizarre, year. And did I mention long? Sometimes I forget that Trump is no longer President. Not for very long, just a moment or two. It just seemed like we were going to be stuck with his madness forever and ever. Happily, this is not the case.
I think we've all gotten used to Covid world. To social distancing and masks and thousands dead every day. Which freaks me out a little. Every day, around three thousand Americans die. And thousands more across the globe pass. All from Covid. And this has become routine. We barely blink an eye. Just another day. It's like a curse and a blessing at the same time. Horrific that we can put up with and endure these times. Heroic that we can keep going at times like these. It makes me think of that line about how life is like a razor's edge we walk upon. I used to find that saying kind of lame. Like "yeah, there's good and bad in the world. I get it. Move on."
That was long ago, when I was young and stupid. Before life began it's ritual of kicking the shit out of me on a regular basis with just enough variation in its timing that every new tragedy is a surprise, something unexpected that drops out of the blue like a dinosaur killing meteor.
Maybe we don't balance on that razor's edge. Maybe we can't fall to one side or the other. Maybe we endure because we are just built that way. Maybe we have to see the good and bad, the wondrous and the woeful in equal measure, because that is simply the world we live in. Sure, we can try to pretend it's all great, or all gross. But I think most of us know that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
It is still an incredible universe.
There is music, and laughter, and tears of joy, rage, and. sorrow that give us comfort.
There is love. And that makes all the difference.
I was teaching a short unit on Shakespeare this past week. We went over all the plays and what the basic plots were. Revenge came up a lot. And the class, middle schoolers, got into a conversation about revenge, if it is a good idea, if it ever really brings satisfaction or joy. It certainly doesn't in Shakespeare. And I've never had a time where carrying a grudge, seeking retribution, getting even, ever worked out well.
Maybe it does for some folks. I've just never seen that. I've seen anger twist people's souls, filling them with toxins that cloud their judgement and seem to make them miserable and lonely. Seen plenty of that.
Not that I think we should let those who are acting cruelly or with malice or doing something that hurts others or themselves continue with those destructive ways.
We just need to let go of anger and resentment. Process it, acknowledge it, and move on.
That's been the only thing that works for me. Forgive, accept, move on.
Right now, there are a lot of people in this country who are, I believe, behaving badly. I would like them to stop. I don't let them do so when I'm around, if I can help it. I don't wish them ill. I don't want them to be miserable or kicked in the nuts or ridiculed. I want them to stop hurting my friends, families, and themselves. I want them to let go of what seems like a lot of anger and grief and fear.
If they can't, we need to deal with them clearly, strongly, and without malice.
Easy to say, hard to do. I often post about the morons, the whackos, the greedy and the willfully ignorant. I probably shouldn't. It prolongs the anger I feel. That is one of my many faults. But I do try and let it go before I go to sleep. I try to treat others with respect while at the same time calling out lies and madness.
It's rough. A razor's edge.
Here's a song. It's Waiting for the Let Go by Elle King. Enjoy.
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