What Ifs and If Onlys
It often happens that we momentarily forget the most common facts.
“What’s the name of the guy who wrote Huck Finn?” Mike asked.
“Mark Twain,” I reminded him.
“Right!” he said, now able to continue his thought. “It’s like that Mark Twain quote – ‘Some of the worst things in my life never happened.’”
I can relate to Mr. Twain. My mind has created miles and miles of fictitious betrayals in my life. The endless, taunting what ifs and if onlys are a plague on my possible contentment. I’m cynical and pessimistic, and although I can change many things in my life, I cannot fix this malfunction in my way of thinking. It mutilates my hope. Repeatedly I am destroyed by these things that have never happened. It’s a shame, quite honestly.
It may be worth noting that I put my easel together yesterday. Those who are (or have been) close to me know that I consider this kind of task a man-job, along with killing bugs, lifting heavy objects, and taking out the trash. But I needed the distraction. Not to mention, that canvas isn’t going to paint itself, and it wasn’t made to remain blank.
Tags: man-jobs, mark twain
August 4th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I’m always scatter brained, never remember the most obvious things. Or I’ll screw up common sayings or words. For example, when saying someone was rigid with the rules, I said they were a “stickter,” only to be corrected (in an obnoxious way, I might add), “stickler.”
Ugh – I hate know-it-alls!
xoxo
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