Many say that tragic events make us stronger, help us get through tough times. I believe that as well. I also believe that experiencing success, that happiness also helps us become stronger. As a matter of fact, stronger without the suffering to get there. I feel confident in saying that because I know from experience, a lot of the heartache I have endured, I could have done without, and, achieved more without it.
Where does that leave folks who have experienced the harm of malicious gossip? Many, I believe, become depressed, limit their activities, avoid social events. There are others that don’t. Not because they don’t care or feel bad. They are, I think, more resilient.
Resiliency versus the sob story is a tough field to judge. Don’t care what others think of you has more limits than the freedom that action suggests.
Pondering all this stuff has been therapeutic for me. Figuring out how I want what years I have left to be is genuinely a weirdness I did not expect. If I live to 100 years, then that is only 22 years away. I don’t see that many years given my present aches and pains. I think sometimes, Wow! I’m almost done with this phase of living.
Then, another birthday rolls around.
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| Watercolor 8” x10” Tree On the Other Side |
