Today (for Dog knows I wasn't up for it yesterday)I wonder about life's manifestations and nuances.
And birth order.
And how some in the same gene pool escape the afflictions of the others.
And nature vs nurture.
And hereditary vs environment.
Is everything in life a balancing act - i.e. a vs?
Like some eat and never gain weight.
While others can't even look at an ice cream without some kind of osmosis taking place.
Are there trade-offs - like you get so many talents but you also get all the angst, whereas you, you over there, get none but you're oh-so-happy-all-the-time. Because money/beauty/wit/Harvard.
And addiction? Is that genetic roulette?
Is adult life all about unmet needs from childhood?
Existential moments.
From me.
Who doesn't feel quite all there, right now.
What is wrong with the world, just as it is today? We got crazies (hamas), and modern gladiators (IDF), the victims (gaza) to feel for, the greedy (duffy, redford) to watch fall, all to safely watch from a distance to keep us entertained. Tyrants and control freaked fighting for territory to tax and control. All come and go, Nero to Putin. All is as it was, as it will be. Enjoy life while we can.
ReplyDeleteThere is an abundance of food to excess, heat, and cool, enjoy it, for soon we will be gone, and those who remember us will also soon be gone.
Well said, Fred.
ReplyDeleteVery well said.
XO
WWW
I've given up worrying about the things I have no control over. At sixty seven, I am more than half way through my life so worrying about my temperamental ticking heart or the fact that I will probably die alone, is wasting fun time. I want to go out laughing.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're feeling "all there" soon.
ReplyDeleteGM:
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't I get just a weeny tiny dooshy bit of your personality?
XO
WWW
Linda:
ReplyDeleteNot yet. Not now. Maybe it'll filter in after my shore-walk tonight, it is a beautiful evening and I need to go outdoors and acknowledge it and keep that old Black Dog out of this house and heart.
XO
WWW
Yes, Black Dog. Always there under the surface, always waiting...
ReplyDeleteCynthia:
ReplyDeleteYes and can we see him prowling. Oh boy. I'm running as fast as I can.
XO
WWW
I'm the fourth of four, no idea how that influenced things...I was close to my next sib, my sister Cora, 8 years older.
ReplyDeleteNature vs Nurture....who knows? My sister and I were alike in many ways, my two brothers, older, were not people I wanted to know. Both gravitated to the south, GA, Mississippi by 20 years old.
Yes, it's a balancing act. And no, it never changes.
Next two, it's rather different than that, but it's what we believe now. In reality one loses weight if one burns more calories than one takes in. It's actually that simple, unless you have a fairly rare metabolic condition.
Next one....dunno for sure, I've known some very talented people, theater, sciences, medicine...some have been happy, some not. More happy how I'd define the term than not.
Last four, I have no idea. It's sort of what is the meaning of life, right?
It makes us happy, or satisfied, or something, or it doesn't. Or something in between.
Some days I'm dissatisfied with my life, others fine with it.
SFM:
ReplyDeleteI think the blogs I read are when people are up and happy. When unhappy/bitchy/lonesome/sad/grieving - bloggers don't write.
Maybe that's the lay of blogland.
Maybe I should avoid writing when pissed off with life.
XO
WWW
People who seem to be oh-so-happy all the time are probably not what they seem. Behind the cheerful exterior there are often hidden traumas and neuroses. Appearances can be deceptive. Life can be tough for all of us, even the fabulously wealthy. Howard Hughes springs to mind.
ReplyDeleteOh I so agree Nick, perhaps I was being too flippant.
ReplyDeleteI remember a perfect family, 3 girls, adoring parents, loads of money, cars bought for each girl when they turned 16.
Later, the middle child in adulthood told me none of them ever felt loved. the parents only had eyes for each other and viewed the girls as intruders. But bought them everything they ever wanted.
Go figure.
XO
WWW
ReplyDeleteI am the first in the birth order in my family.A heavy burden at times past.Even today my siblings consult with me when they have problems though I don't always have the answers.
GFB:
ReplyDeleteThey must value your imput highly!
I, too, am an eldest but alas don't share your shaman status with my own family :)
XO
WWW
I don't have the answer but I am less inclined to look for them. I figure there is so much I can't control, so I try to look for the good in life. There is so little time - I want to be as happy as I can be.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, WWW. As with so many of your postings it's not a black dog pulling at my leash as an enthusiastic puppy wanting to write a reply the length of an essay.
ReplyDeleteI don't think "adult life [is] all about unmet needs from childhood". Though I am sure for some people it is. My two sisters being a point in case. Though what exactly their beef is and why they can't slaughter it I do not know. And most likely never will. Listening to them I sometimes think we grew up in different families.
To be fair to them: I am a lot older and, without a doubt, got the cream. Not least by spending the first few years with my adored and adoring grandparents. And had my parents' undivided attention. It was a paradise which, maybe - though I was always there for them - my siblings didn't experience. Both my sisters refuse themselves on a level I dearly wish not to be visited upon them by their own plentiful offspring. My brother? An affable man, a great son to his parents. Yet impenetrable.
And yes, I am one of those annoying people whose metabolism works overtime. Neither do I have a sweet tooth.
Other than that, WWW, and by way of scant comfort, let that black dog off the leash. Let it roam free. It might run off, it might become accidental road kill or - lucky you - will return faithfully to its owner.
Yes, I know my bedside manner is atrocious.
U
Oh my
ReplyDeleteI have missed your sharing.
Now on the mend
5 lbs lighter
that I did not need to lose
but will eat meals, inbetween
and ice cream in the middle of
the night.
Thank you
for your words
always bring me pleasure
and what I can relate too.
I think all of life is a "genetic roulette." You are what you are, genetically speaking. Looking for rhyme and reason gives me something to do but at the end of the day I usually throw up my hands, stop trying to figure things out, and just let myself relax in the things I can enjoy - sunsets, a good book, hot tea, a call from a child or grandchild, my comfortable bed. When I do what I can to help those I see in need, when I conserve water or don't waste food, or plant a garden and share the harvest, or smile at someone who looks as though they've forgotten how, or practice paying it forward, then I see what's worthwhile about my life. But, those are choices I make and I must work with what I am.
ReplyDeleteI seldom write about distressing things on my blog because I don't want to expose private matters belonging to family/friends (though sometimes a poem will jump put of my fingers that allows me to express angst without too much personal detail). As a reader, my own writing bores me when compared to what I read here. It's as though you are having a conversation with us.
"Is everything in life a balancing act - i.e. a vs?" Probably, in this universe where everything is relative. I'll go make tea and let's sit and talk for hours.