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...are we out of time?

So I hit the bars with an old friend tonight, and we got to talking. As the two silent and generally underestimated people we are, we do a lot of observing, processing, theorizing and thinking. Normally this is lost in the constant tide of stupid-customer stories and bad jokes (As I said to him years back, "I'd say something in good taste now, but we've known each other too long for that to fly." Draw your own conclusions and assume the worst and funniest of them is true), but sometimes we break out the big words and try to make sense of life. Tonight, what struck us both as the biggest question was: Why are people afraid to be happy?

Let that sink in. People want to be happy-- I assume, at least-- but they actually spend time making misery or putting good things through a bad filter. I don't mean bitching about your job now and then (As Drew Carey said, "You hate your job? Well why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everyone, and they meet at the bar." wink , or occasionally blowing off some steam about a roommate or family member or significant other. A certain amount of conflict and frustration is an element of the human condition, and I find getting it out of your system to be more productive than stewing in it or denying it. I mean people who work hard at being unhappy, who manufacture crises in a time of stability for no apparent reason. We've known a lot of people who had a steady job, a place to live, friends that supported them, a stable love life, and sound health, but couldn't leave it alone for more than a week or two at a time. Why, we don't know.

Maybe it's being angst-ridden and turbulent that makes them happy, in some very unsatisfying way. I can't figure out how nailing oneself to a cross would be enjoyable, but hey. Different strokes. It just baffles me that anyone would do this. I would kill for a stable job that actually paid enough that I could make rent without help. I'd kill to be done with school so I could find said job, and so I wouldn't feel like such a child compared to the people I know who are working and functional adults at my same age. I'm not going to put myself on the rack over it, since I'm otherwise content with life, but it does confuse me when other people manufacture stuff to be tragic over. If you're that unhappy, do something about it. If you have the boss from hell, get another job. If your roommate is an a*****e or your landlord is an incompetent b*****d, move. If you're dating someone who walks on you, leave them (This last one is especially enjoyable, although I hope no one reading this has ever dated a psychopath with more tabletop gaming goodies than actual furniture. Eurgh no pl0x). And if you really can't fix anything-- can't, not won't, not "I was going to but I talked myself out of it because trying is too hard or scary"-- then learn to deal with it, more for the sake of your own mental health than anything else. Ride it out and make your move when you can. But for Christ's sake, don't wallow in your own misery. That's no good for anyone.

This is still a little Gaia-related, since I see people complaining about the forums but not doing anything to help (or just making the problem worse with spam and flaming and hostility), and I used to do a lot of work in Journals and have thus seen a lot of pointless agonizing. A lot of it is youth, so it's forgiven. This too shall pass, as they say. But generally, people still do this. Comments, thoughts, insight, jokes, whatever are all welcome. I was feeling rambly tonight. xd