Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Why So Serious?


I was reading comments on my last blog post and also pleasantly surprised that I have followers now that I installed some gadget to allow followers (show you how much I know about blogging). So far my followers are all good people- People from Bonanzle. They, like me have stuff to sell and are doing their very best to get the word out in any way they can to entice potential buyers to visit their little shops (we call 'em booths) at 'The Ranch' (a euphemism for Bonanzle.)

This post isn't a promo post about The Ranch...been there done that for this week. It's more about me by way of stepping out of my comfort zone and talking about myself, something I don't ordinarily like to do. It happened quite accidentally that I decided to do that; if fact, I was just thinking of going to bed after reading some email digests of some other groups I'm in that will remain nameless. Anyway, I decided to click on 'the next blog' just to see what some random someone-else had to say, and I was surprised at what I found. There at the top of the blog was a picture of the Heath Ledger Joker from the BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT movie with the caption "Why So Serious ?" scrawled in blood or lipstick, not sure which. The blog was in Spanish and I didn't understand a word of it, so it wasn't the blog that had anything to say to me, just the picture and the caption. It made me think, Why AM I so serious?

Really, I usually am. Oh, I can make a joke now and then...but I rarely crack a smile. Most of my day is consumed with efforts to be productive. I tend to be reactive and hard on myself when things aren't going right or when I don't get all the things done I set out to do. I can't remember the last time I took a day just to 'goof off', and I don't even know if I'd enjoy goofing off since I'm so out of practice.
Why so serious?

I hear a lot about what's going on politically and financially. From what I know, I think that throwing debt after debt is no solution, only the inevitable losing scenario for all but the very, very wealthy. Going to hell in a handbasket, yet there is nothing I personally can do about it. It's almost comedic really, when you see all these supposedly knowledgeable people heading in a direction that inevitably leads off a cliff. P. J. O’Rourke said, "A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them."Bob Dylan said, "Don't follow leaders...watch the parking meters..."and we shake our heads and laugh at the mini-wisdom of these lines. Why so serious?

It's winter. I hate winter and in spite of the temperature notching up a few degrees giving the illusion of spring, I still know it's winter out there. It tends to foster a sense of misanthropy in me and dashes any daydreams I might have about basking in the sun, or at least taking a long walk. (Oh, that would be goofing off, wouldn't it? Better scratch that idea.) But there's nothing I can do about winter but wait it out, listen to some music I enjoy and try and have decent time working. Hey, work can even be FUN if you do it creatively. Why so serious?

Fact is, I don't know. I was serious as a child, pretty serious as a teenager, and definitely serious as a young adult. For all my seriousness, I never gravitated towards a 'serious profession', like accountant, lawyer, doctor, etc. I was much more motivated towards endeavors that favored the FUN side - music, writing, sales, game design, things that allowed some creativity. (My current music project being appropriately named, 'Serious Black'.) Still, they didn't make me any less serious. Oh, I've had my fun in those occupations, but innately, my personality wasn't altered by them. Astrologically, I'm a Taurus. Does that make me serious? Don Rickles, Jay Leno and George Carlin are Taureans. Would you call them serious comedians?

I guess I just have a different perspective; a different ethic on life. Maybe it's a way of keeping my sanity. Maybe if I wasn't serious, I might end up going off the deep end like Daffy Duck and just be a candidate for the looney bin. Serious is the way I deal with things. It's my anchor, the way I trust myself that I don't expect anyone to understand. I still enjoy the company of people who aren't serious, and find humor in the ironic, which certainly helps in these troubled times. Don't confuse seriousness with depression. It's not. I'm NOT depressed and I'm not in denial. But please don't ask me, "Why so serious?" I just may have to slap you silly.

1 comment:

  1. That topic is too serious for me to take it seriously. Seriously.

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