Sherman--you are affirming what many people are discovering about "setpoint" happiness. We each have our place and range. It is thought that we can only move ourselves one way or another, at most, about 20%. I loved this irony you shared about he Spokanes being mean speakers and happy dancers. Isn't that humanity, for you, though, full of juxtapositions? And for the record, when I read or listen to your creations, though there are moments of great grief, I feel poignancy, not saddness. As I read some of the lines or listen to these endearing few minutes, I laugh or nod to myself and talk to my computer...yes, so true, brother!
I can imagine that this dance is happy-making. After all, happiness is contagious and by doing this among other people, and getting caught up in the laughter and repetition of the action, the level of collective happiness must build to a crescendo. Love this!
Excellent moments captured here. I couldn't help but think if this release in letting go with trust inside a group isn't a similar emotion that some people feel when they attend events like Maga rallies with their own rituals of (metaphorically) running to a common center, giving in to a different kind of emotional alchemy, something like fear mixed with rage that explodes at whatever target the speaker on stage paints for them as the cause of all this terrible change coming down, which is really just History coming to collect the taxes on all this trauma.
Your point about literature containing a foundational lens of sadness rings true, but behind that sadness, I believe there is a potential for transcendence beyond pain, sorrow, and even joy. I can feel it from your work as as well writers like Cormac McCarthy. What an incredible channel of art language is, that it can contain an entire spectrum of pain and possibly even release each of us to maybe one day move beyond it all with ecstasy.
A wonderful poem to read in New York as the blizzard approaches. Thank you. I carry a similar melancholy, or sadness, with me in all my travels. It's not without its joy and familiarity. It's sort of like blues artists say: the stories are sad, but signing them doesn't have to be sad.
Well, we White People have mosh pits, but it's not the same. Incidentally, whenever I see someone vaping, with the giant vapor clouds, I think maybe it's an Indian sending smoke signals, and attacking the homestead. And I don't even have a homestead. My brother, however, has a van and a shotgun down by the river. Lake Chelan is in the sticks. His only friends are chickens.
Finding happiness and joy in the middle of the current sh-storm of pandemic and political economic and environmental stench, is a beautiful act of defiance. This stubborn dance of joy is inspiring. It is one of the treasured gems of being human. Thanks for the poem!
Thank you for sharing your sadness and vulnerability. I learn a lot from it and marvel at what it means to endure and persevere. It's a precious gift.
Sherman--you are affirming what many people are discovering about "setpoint" happiness. We each have our place and range. It is thought that we can only move ourselves one way or another, at most, about 20%. I loved this irony you shared about he Spokanes being mean speakers and happy dancers. Isn't that humanity, for you, though, full of juxtapositions? And for the record, when I read or listen to your creations, though there are moments of great grief, I feel poignancy, not saddness. As I read some of the lines or listen to these endearing few minutes, I laugh or nod to myself and talk to my computer...yes, so true, brother!
I can imagine that this dance is happy-making. After all, happiness is contagious and by doing this among other people, and getting caught up in the laughter and repetition of the action, the level of collective happiness must build to a crescendo. Love this!
That’s a great description of what happens during the dance!
This made me smile. Thank you.
Thank you!
Excellent moments captured here. I couldn't help but think if this release in letting go with trust inside a group isn't a similar emotion that some people feel when they attend events like Maga rallies with their own rituals of (metaphorically) running to a common center, giving in to a different kind of emotional alchemy, something like fear mixed with rage that explodes at whatever target the speaker on stage paints for them as the cause of all this terrible change coming down, which is really just History coming to collect the taxes on all this trauma.
Your point about literature containing a foundational lens of sadness rings true, but behind that sadness, I believe there is a potential for transcendence beyond pain, sorrow, and even joy. I can feel it from your work as as well writers like Cormac McCarthy. What an incredible channel of art language is, that it can contain an entire spectrum of pain and possibly even release each of us to maybe one day move beyond it all with ecstasy.
I chuckle here in Spokane thinking we’ve only had one day we haven’t had to scrape! I would love to see this dance.
Head to any powwow in the Spokane area and you might see it.
A wonderful poem to read in New York as the blizzard approaches. Thank you. I carry a similar melancholy, or sadness, with me in all my travels. It's not without its joy and familiarity. It's sort of like blues artists say: the stories are sad, but signing them doesn't have to be sad.
Thank you for that lovely post.
Well, we White People have mosh pits, but it's not the same. Incidentally, whenever I see someone vaping, with the giant vapor clouds, I think maybe it's an Indian sending smoke signals, and attacking the homestead. And I don't even have a homestead. My brother, however, has a van and a shotgun down by the river. Lake Chelan is in the sticks. His only friends are chickens.
Actually, I lied. His only weapon is one feral cat.
What a wonderful poem. It makes me even happier on this sunny cold day in Seattle!
Thank you, Kathy!
Finding happiness and joy in the middle of the current sh-storm of pandemic and political economic and environmental stench, is a beautiful act of defiance. This stubborn dance of joy is inspiring. It is one of the treasured gems of being human. Thanks for the poem!
Thank you
a moment forgetting unwelcome sounds. Thanks
Thank you
It’s hard to feel happy with Fox News and republicans being awful every minute.
Politicians come and go, I think. My sadness is more of a spiritual/psychological thing.