by Shannon Baker
Anyone else out there remember Chambawamba’s song
Tubthumping? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5uWRjFsGc
Every now and then I need to pull that one out and listen to
it, you know, when I get clubbed upside the head with life.
I’ve always been blessed with a certain shallowness that
allows me to keep floating through life, even when unexpected setbacks arise.
Or maybe it’s because, as the third and youngest child of an exhausted mother,
I learned early to self-soothe. I have an overdeveloped denial muscle and
experience has shown me that if I delay panic, often the crisis passes and I
won’t have to deal with any bad feelings.
I think I took this coping mechanism to extremes standing in
the hospital hallway eighteen years ago, when the doctor told us my father had
a brain tumor and only days to live. I turned to my sobbing sister and said,
“Don’t over-react; he’s not dead, yet.”
Sometimes people don’t understand me.
And sometimes I’m just plain wrong.
In this political season, I prefer to avoid all the issues.
It’s not a responsible reaction, of course. I call it Head-in-the-Sand syndrome
and I’m pretty happy with it. I vote and this year, I’m swinging in the great
state of Colorado so it’s super important. I’m not ignorant, thereby avoiding
true bliss, but I refuse to join in the political fray.
Never-the-less, denial and avoidance can only go so far and
occasionally I have to face the Truth. When that happens, I resort to a
collection of music (old, because, well, I’m old). It’s my Disaster Playlist.
It got really long during and after my divorce. These days, after several
broken and lost computers and destroyed CD’s (yes, I collected them before
iPods) and a relatively peaceful life, my play list is pretty small.
Today, though, I’ll be cranking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxLWFTIvRnM
by Jem and remembering that It’s Just a Ride.
For anyone having a bad week, remember if you get knocked
down, you’ll get up again, they’re never gonna keep you down.
What’s on your Disaster Playlist?
2 comments:
I'm sorry about your dad, Shannon. Also, I think you're a delightful weirdo. I'm looking forward to your responses to this post because I am compiling my disaster playlist.
You're right that we get through it, though, and we choose to grow or we choose to stagnate. Cheers to growth!
Jess, I'll see your delightful weirdo and raise you a Strange Ranger. I have a word for your thought I use a lot: AFGO (another f*&%$ing growth opportunity)
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