Some wise person once said that it matters not what happens in life, the key is in how you deal with it. Our greatest daily challenges can be in dealing with other people.
One reason I enjoy the new TV show, “Desperate Housewives,” is that it portrays the things that can go wrong in relationships. The wacky scenes, involve scheming and plotting revolved around stealing someone else’s guy, or money, or gaining or keeping prestige. While the characters are exaggerated, and not like anyone whom I presently know, they are not so far-fetched that they are outside the realm of possibility. We are left feeling that people like this exist…somewhere!
Strangely enough, to watch shows that demonstrate a level of conflict is a bit comforting. We are an imperfect species. Yet, while I know that some children are overbearing and are accustomed to telling off their parents and bad-mouthing them, it is a shock to see this behavior portrayed as entertainment, on TV. If children are using shows like that as a model for behavior, it is no wonder that teachers and parents are having trouble with them in school.
Our society is becoming less polite and less couth. I sometimes wish that I lived in another age when there was more respect in place, when there was less violence, and when there was less immediate knowledge of the bad events happening. Now, we have the expediency of news delivery but the news is never good. This fire, that robbery, this pedophile priest, that rapist, this war, more casualties, that drunk driver…the list goes on and on.
Isn’t it good that we have hobbies into which we can escape the fray and do something creative and useful? We can make a date to spend time with ourselves. We can play music, loudly, if we choose to do so. Or, we can stitch in silence, with just the hum of the sewing machine, or no sound at all, if we are sewing by hand.
I would say that creative people have it all. Making something beautiful that did not exist before we came along, and that will continue to give joy to ourselves or others, as the years progress…what more could we ask?
For a moment, all the troubles of the day can be set aside, all the snide remarks of co-workers, all the snippiness of sales clerks, and all of the encounters with rude people whom we seem to encounter in this society, on any given day, can be shelved. Alone with our thoughts and our projects, we can turn our attention to more pressing matters…thoughts of how we are living our lives, decisions we need to make, and ultimately, the brevity of our personal existence and how we can make every day count.
For something a little different, tomorrow, I am going to tell you about a very special Egyptian piece I just collected. I love it! In the meantime, I’ll ask Jim to take a photo of it so that you, too, can appreciate it.
Remember not to let a black cat cross your path tomorrow, and avoid stepping on cracks in the sidewalk. Plan to get in plenty of “treats,” and enjoy those visits from ghosts and goblins. Until then,
Pat
