Q&A

A quickie

“Do you reckon it’s better to acknowledge when you’re miserable than it is worse to acknowledge when you’re happy?” she asked me one evening.

“Excuse me? I am slightly failing to understand your elaborate question.”, I said with my eyes pinned in the book.

“When you’re miserable, once you come to realize you are so, does that make you feel better? And when you’re happy, once you realize you are so, does that make you feel worse?” she blurted it out in one breath.

“Hard to say about happines, but if I’m miserable realizing it only makes me more miserable.” I answered, experiencing the honestity of my words as I spoke them.

“Are you sure? For I strongly believe that when you are miserable, you can only BE miserable. There’s no room for any other feeling. So once you come to the realization of your stat and condition, you just have yourself something new. Hence, you’re less miserable, even if only by a very small degree.” she went on.

“I guess if you put it that way then it does make some sense”, I said.

“Consequently, when you’re happy �" and I mean trully really happy �" you can only be happy without any room for other feeling. And once you…”

“Yeah, I get it but I have to dissagree with that.” I closed my book and looked at her.

“Do tell, please.”

“When I’m happy, realizing that I am happy onmy makes me extra happier.” I said.

“Then 2 questions come to mind: were you either not happy enough, for there would not have been room for any MORE happiness, and the realization of your actual (assuming complete) happiness does not bring in a sad part simply because it cannot last forever?”

“First,” I said putting my book away, “happiness can get as big as you wish and if it gets “too” big it may as well explode like an overly inflated baloon and make me die of too much happiness �" in which case I would keep being happy even in death, hence another extra happiness. And second, your initial question didn’t even imply a termination of either of the two situations �" in which case we’re branching on a new subject here.”

“When I’m miserable I feel, obviously, miserable. But as soon as I realize I feel miserable, I also realize it will end at some point sooner and later and the realization of its finite state is enough to make me feel better.” she said in a half appologetical half optimistic voice.

“And you’re telling me this because?” I asked, reaching back for my book.

“Because ten more minutes of my current miserable state have passed and I’m closer to my no-longer-miserable state in which I won’t be annoying you with existential questions. Thank you.” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

Reviews

[Jemma]

haha i loved this.

This is the type of conversation I have with myself all the time. The type of conversation that can just seem to go for ever and when you think it does end it still spirals around in your head because you come up with new ideas to add onto the conversation.

Anyway bravo. great right. it got into my head and inturupted my thoughts. And thats what all writing should do.

[Camille Corbett]

This was like and non humorous Oscar Wilde Play, work in some humour. Add some stage directions and make this a proper play. Make the people more glamourour as well.

[Kelley]

That made my head hurt.....lol round and round where you end up nobody knows.
I thought you made some good points but it was hard to wrap my head around it all.
I just got up had a long night....smiles
Thanks for sharing.

Kelley