Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Those are the five stages of, well, everything seriously bad that happens to us– grief, lost relationships, addiction, job dislocation and death– to name a few (as if one can bargain with grief and death).
Nothing in life seems quite so orderly, however. Some people never get past their own feelings of anger and bitterness. Others seem to live in a perpetual state of grace and total acceptance (though in the interest of disclosure, I haven’t yet met anyone that fits that description). Life is an ongoing process, and I feel blessed– even in spite of it all.

Romeo: Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear…
Juliet: O, swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable.
Quotation from William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Blessed are the forgetful: for they get the better even of their blunders.
Quotation from Friedrich Nietzsche

I’ll cry at anything when I’m sick. I get emotional at inappropriate moments– during game shows, talk shows, comedies, even during car commercials. I can’t help it.

This much we do know: All of us do it in varying degrees of blubbitude. Some of us are waterfalls, soaking fellow moviegoers with our public displays of empathy. Others are Saharas, for whom tears are about as rare as oases.
Quotation from Desson Thomson, The Washington Post

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

An attribute expresses a value and is associated with a person. Attributes provide a default value, but in most cases, individuals can revise an attribute’s default value. Custom attributes become personal extensions, often visible even if one doesn’t have intimate access to the user’s default.

Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose,
Loveliness extreme.
Extra gaiters,
Loveliness extreme.
Sweetest ice-cream.
Pages ages page ages page ages.
Poem by Gertrude Stein, Sacred Emily

Certain people make a habit of anger. They seethe with resentment, which is very hard for them to overcome. Some psychiatrists consider this chronic bitterness to be a mental disorder called Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder. The scary fact is this happens also to “normal” people who suffer an unexpected setback such as job loss, divorce, or financial shock. I wish there was a simple, green, heart-shaped pill available to cure everyone’s anger!

They feel the world has treated them unfairly. It’s one step more complex than anger. They’re angry plus helpless.
Quotation from Dr. Michael Linden, who estimates 1% to 2% of the population meets the criterion for Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder

Embitterment is a violation of basic beliefs. It causes a very severe emotional reaction… We are always coping with negative life events. It’s the reaction that varies.
Another quotation from Dr. Michael Linden

(1) When it burns, stop running. (2) Put a billfold in your mouth so you don’t bite your tongue. (3) Tie a balloon around your waist with string and roll until the balloon breaks. (4) Don’t pee on a jellyfish sting. Pour vinegar on it instead.

On a large enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
Quotation from Chuck Palahniuk

It’s only a few days until my trip to Costa Rica. I’ve drilled into my mind what I need to pack, but I still forget things whenever I travel. Yes, I’m taking several packets of sugar with me. I’m going to drink lots of wine and look at birds. I hope I remember to hiccup in Spanish. Hipo!

I think hiccup cures were really invented for the amusement of the patient’s friends.
Quotation from Bill Watterson The Complete Calvin and Hobbes (by Hobbes)