Happy Thursday, readers!
Mine is made a little brighter by daydreaming about a few wishlist items, such as:
1. These two painfully gorgeous dresses, The Deco Pocket, and Bird by Dona Monroe at Steven Alan
Oh, where is $360 dollars when you need it :P I also love this description of her collection, "Designed for the discerning woman seeking something unique, New York-based designer Dona Monroe's collection is driven by vintage silhouettes, while her obsession with cinematography and fashion from 70's films influences nearly every collection."
Ah, someone finally gets it! :D
2. This Quote by Maya Angelou.
I agree with this, so much. I struggle with bitterness every day and know just how destructive it can be. I'm also so tired of everyone looking upon anger as some irrational fanatical response. Anger is just caring about something so much your heart spills over.
3. These two twisty necklaces.
You don't even understand. I love this clock so much.
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On a slightly different note, I also love this childrens book, you may remember it.
It's the story of a Mom and her son. I don't remember most of it, except that the Mother would hold the boy and say, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be." Then, after the boy grows up and the Mother becomes frail, he holds her and says, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my Mommy you'll be." At the very end of the story, the mother passes away and her son is the father of a little girl, rocking her to sleep; singing the same song that his mother used to sing to him.
It's sappy as heck, but makes my cry forever every time. I love you Momma!
This concludes the June 16th edition of Things I Love Thursday, stay tuned for next week :P
Have a lovely day, readers!
You're right, I did love the last paragraph...how sweet :)
ReplyDeleteLove you too, Gracie
I like them both, but I like the deco pocket best with the two black chevrons. Really cool. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know about anger just being that you care about something so much your heart spills over. The asshole dragging his kid by the arm painfully so they can "just get in and get out", the bitch yelling at the convenience store clerk for not having Marlboro Reds, the bastard yelling at his wife because his breakfast is cold. I can't imagine these people really giving a damn about the people their treating like shit. And although you can argue they do care about their time, cigarettes and hot breakfast and thus would fall under your notion, I think the real thing they care about is themselves. I think most people are selfish whether they want to admit it or not (I am selfish), and I think a world burned clean with selfish anger would be a very nasty place to live.
I love the nautical necklace. The infinity fits you great though, since you love to wish a wonderful infinity to us all :P. Also, when I looked at the infinity necklace's picture, I focused more on the thing it's sitting on for about a minute before seeing the actual necklace because I was thinking to myself how much it looks like a metal burger.
Aww, I never got that childrens book as a kid. Very sweet.
Have a awesome infinity!
Casey: I think it could be argued that all of the examples you just gave are bitterness rather than anger. Anger, to me, is that firey passion you feel in you gut when something is unjust. When something needs fighting for.
ReplyDeleteAn awesome infinity to you.
my mom used to read me that book....such a sweet yet sad story
ReplyDelete@Grace:
ReplyDeleteIt can also be argued bitterness is a passive form of anger, and as soon as one lets out a strong emotional response negatively, it becomes aggressive anger. To me, any form of negative behaviour towards other people or otherwise is a form of anger.
The anger you associate with the term is just as you put it, fiery passion. Nevertheless it's the same emotion, just under specific circumstances. I believe given the right circumstances, even someone without constant bitterness can be led to do things similar to those examples I gave. That 15 seconds of frustration when you can't find your shoes, the split-second of irritation when your hair gets in your eyes, those innumerable moments that happen every day like that are indeed forms of anger in varying intensity. The parent may be late for something important. The lady may just be used to the routine of Marlboro Reds and dislikes all other brands. The husband may not mind much if his lunch or dinner is cold, he's just not a morning person so cold breakfast pisses him off. Doesn't mean their always that way, it's just something flew up their ass and their taking it out all of the sudden in pure anger.
My point is that I feel that you can't get rid of the anger within yourself with more anger, and that anger is not exclusive to "We will fight in France, we will fight in the seas and oceans, we will fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air!" (lol Thats what popped in my head.)
Well Sir, I just plain disagree with you. All of those examples, to me, are still forms of bitterness. Bitterness is just anger that you held on to, and let fester in your life. That bitterness seaps out like a mold sporing into the air when little situations, like lost shoes or tardiness arise. Anger, pure, autonomical anger, to me is a very healthy response. And one that is completely intertwined with my passion for all things in life. It cannot be cut out or severed from it. I don't think it's any crime to live life fiercely.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's okay to disagree with me. But let me just completely clear a few things up about my personal opinion: I completely agree that anger cannot and should not be separated from anyone. Anger is an imperative part of our emotional makeup. And constructive anger can indeed be very helpful and healthy.
ReplyDeleteMy first point was: Anger can be, and often is, irrational. I gave those examples to try to articulate that because it's things we can see happen every day. Selfishness, the ego, is often to blame for this. People do irrational things to protect and/or provide for themselves. People have varying degrees of selfishness, but make no mistake, we all have it. It is not a conscious decision to be selfish... It is part of us whether we like it or not. If one thinks fighting against selfish people will make the world better, then all one really does is fight everyone else instead of fighting the selfishness inside themselves.
My second point was: Bitterness and anger are not two separate things. That is actually a fact, and you even just said so. The difference between bitterness and your belief of what anger is (constructive anger), is how one deals with anger. Does one let shitty things get to them and stick with them, or does one keep their head and try to reason it out in a non-destructive way? Or how about when something happens, someone flies off their hinges and tells someone off (or in extreme cases, physically hurts someone)? It depends on the person, or more accurately, how you feel at the moment when something goes down. My belief is that everyone has the capacity for all types of anger, especially hurtfulness.
My third point was: Frustration and irritation are milder forms of anger, but are not always "built up bitterness". In fact, bitterness, frustration and irritation are three different forms of anger. They can make each other worse, yes, but they are not mutually exclusive. Bitterness is just another word for resentment; "These kids are pissing me off", "That group of people gets special treatment", "The whole world sucks" Frustration is when you attempt to do something and are unable to do it. "I can't find my shoes", "I can't get my computer to work", "I can't beat the last boss in Mega Man 10!" Irritation is minor things that are just annoying. "My hair is in my eyes", "I hate that sound", "Damn wasps flying around my head" Frustration and irritation rarely cause you to throw a fit (though it can happen), and most of the time it just makes you sigh and puff. Like any anger, they can be built up by not handling them properly and/or not correcting the problem(s).
My fourth and final point, and the whole reason I'm going into different levels and definitions of anger: People can not be split into two groups, like "these are the bitter people" and "these are the good people". I don't think that you believe that, but I merely pointed out that's what it sounded like you were saying. Let's face it, we're all assholes sometimes. Probably at least once a week. Some more than others, yes. But people are so much more complex than "group A" and "group B". Everyone is different with how they deal with their anger, and to try and lump them in together as "the bad, bitter people" is really just a false dichotomy. It is natural to be an asshole, it doesn't mean you're like that all the time. You just can't help it sometimes. It doesn't make someone a bad person unless their being irrationally angry to get whatever it is they want, and really everyone has done that at one point or another.
Whew. Man, this has been the longest and most interesting correspondence we've had yet! Sorry I keep writing books though. If you disagree with any of these points, that's ok, I'll respectfully agree to disagree. Just trying to make my positions perfectly clear since I don't feel I did a very good job in the above posts, what with re-using examples to make different points and such. Also, sorry for cursing so much, even though I don't think you mind. I just used them to get to the point and not dance around it. Hope you have an awesomer infinity!
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to read that book to me when I was younger. She'd cry while reading it. It's a beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteAshleigh: Awww, too sweet! I agree!
ReplyDelete