OK. A couple of posts back, I asked for suggestions. I asked for an emotion or a feeling. I received a few responses. I'll tackle the first one today.Here we go.
Mike had never left a comment on my blog before so it was a cheeky surprise. He naughtily suggested ‘schadenfreude’ and then more kindly changed to ‘eagerness’.
In a weird twist, Mike’s suggestion highlights an unsuggested emotion that I’m often tussling with. I’m competitive and hate being outdone. If anyone throws down a gauntlet, I’m usually tempted to pick it up (and then secretly try it on – a boy can’t have too many gloves…!)
My first instinct… No. Scratch that. My first actions upon reading ‘schadenfreude’, even though said in jest, were to seek a decent enough definition so that I could begin to write a response.
Here’s a definition “the enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others”. I don’t actually enjoy others’ troubles but I admit that I’ve often found it difficult to suppress a loud hoot of laughter when I’ve seen someone take a tumble on slippery ground after windmilling their arms about for a few seconds in helpless freefall. Yesterday I also realised that I experienced a small, very secret and cruel moment of glee whilst the bus I was on whizzed past a bus stop, leaving grumpy commuters huffing and gesturing as we sped on.
Another definition is “shameful pleasure”. Oh Lord! I’ve got billions of those…
Anyway. On to Mike’s other suggestion. “Eagerness”.
Hmmmm. I had to give this a bit of thought as I wasn’t sure if I’m an eager person or not. I’m always eager to go on holiday and each day, at work, I spend most of the minutes between 11.30am and 12.15pm eagerly looking forward to lunch. I usually have lunch at around about the same time each day, so my whole being is quivering in anticipation to scamper off to the staff restaurant once the morning draws to a close.
I guess I am an eager person. If it’s something I want or like then I look forward to it, I reckon that’s only natural. I am easily excited by stuff, though and if it seems like a fun idea, I’m very easily distracted. I think it’s because I get joy from small things, I often find little inconsequential moments highly entertaining or fascinating. My mind is full of lots of little details and memories of things I’ve seen and done – all tiny and unimportant to all but me. I remember about 3 years ago being so thrilled that I’d skimmed a stone across the shallow water on a beach in Cape Cod and it bounced about 6 or 7 times – it was like being 5 years old again. I was amazed and I can clearly remember so much of the detail, the light of the sun, the colour of the sand, the sound and smell of the sea. There was no-one nearby to tell, I kept it to myself, until now.
Actually, none of that is anything to do with eagerness. Er… it was all a bit of a ramble. Sorry. Anyway, thanks for throwing me into random pandemonium Mike. It’s a shame I didn’t know when you were in the UK on your travels, as I would have tried to steal your dog - I want him.
In a weird twist, Mike’s suggestion highlights an unsuggested emotion that I’m often tussling with. I’m competitive and hate being outdone. If anyone throws down a gauntlet, I’m usually tempted to pick it up (and then secretly try it on – a boy can’t have too many gloves…!)
My first instinct… No. Scratch that. My first actions upon reading ‘schadenfreude’, even though said in jest, were to seek a decent enough definition so that I could begin to write a response.
Here’s a definition “the enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others”. I don’t actually enjoy others’ troubles but I admit that I’ve often found it difficult to suppress a loud hoot of laughter when I’ve seen someone take a tumble on slippery ground after windmilling their arms about for a few seconds in helpless freefall. Yesterday I also realised that I experienced a small, very secret and cruel moment of glee whilst the bus I was on whizzed past a bus stop, leaving grumpy commuters huffing and gesturing as we sped on.
Another definition is “shameful pleasure”. Oh Lord! I’ve got billions of those…
Anyway. On to Mike’s other suggestion. “Eagerness”.
Hmmmm. I had to give this a bit of thought as I wasn’t sure if I’m an eager person or not. I’m always eager to go on holiday and each day, at work, I spend most of the minutes between 11.30am and 12.15pm eagerly looking forward to lunch. I usually have lunch at around about the same time each day, so my whole being is quivering in anticipation to scamper off to the staff restaurant once the morning draws to a close.
I guess I am an eager person. If it’s something I want or like then I look forward to it, I reckon that’s only natural. I am easily excited by stuff, though and if it seems like a fun idea, I’m very easily distracted. I think it’s because I get joy from small things, I often find little inconsequential moments highly entertaining or fascinating. My mind is full of lots of little details and memories of things I’ve seen and done – all tiny and unimportant to all but me. I remember about 3 years ago being so thrilled that I’d skimmed a stone across the shallow water on a beach in Cape Cod and it bounced about 6 or 7 times – it was like being 5 years old again. I was amazed and I can clearly remember so much of the detail, the light of the sun, the colour of the sand, the sound and smell of the sea. There was no-one nearby to tell, I kept it to myself, until now.
Actually, none of that is anything to do with eagerness. Er… it was all a bit of a ramble. Sorry. Anyway, thanks for throwing me into random pandemonium Mike. It’s a shame I didn’t know when you were in the UK on your travels, as I would have tried to steal your dog - I want him.
3 comments:
Oh I like this post...it's a little bit of DG that we suspected was there, that shyly peeped out whilst in Sydney, but now is openly exposed! ;-) I loved your stone skimming story!
hummm... which bit did you suspect was there? The mean bit about the bus?
ha ha! No the "my whole being is quivering in anticipation" of lunch! I can visualise it so easily! LOL
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