A Very Small Stack

"If you ever wonder why there's a shadow on your stack of problems, it's coming from the towering skyscraper of blessings and good fortune next to it."

- Unknown

Scheveningen Women and Other People Under Umbrellas
Vincent Van Gogh, Watercolor, 1882, The Hague, Netherlands

I'm feeling pretty sheepish today. I have a towering skyscraper of blessings and good fortune casting a shadow so long and wide across my little stack of problems it's embarrassing. Yet, sometimes, I just can't resist feeling sorry for myself for some minor issue. Really. How shallow.

I'm not grievously shallow. At least, I don't think I am. I mean, just last night, I watched ABC's Nightline (purportedly a news show) and sat for a full twenty minutes to watch an entire segment on shoes. High heeled shoes, to be exact, and the shoe-a-holic to end all shoe-a-holics, Kelly Ripa. Seriously. The gist of this in-depth news exposé is that high heels are dangerous, and we needed a shoe-addicted woman to tell us this. 


There is now, apparently, a new fitness class at Crunch Gym in NYC called "Stiletto Strength" to help women build up the so-called strength required to walk in eight inch heels without toppling over. Heavens to betsy, I'm not kidding. That's grievously shallow.

Ten-inch high heeled shoes by British designer Alexander McQueen

Um, pardon me, but does anyone out there find these shoes attractive? 

Yes, yes, I digress. I'm shallow and easily distracted.

I wasted a good bit of time in self-pity yesterday for no very good reason at all. I also somehow managed to garner the well-intentioned sympathy of my all-too-wonderful friends, none of whom were able to reach through the computer screen to smack me virtually and yell, "Snap out of it!" 

I apologize to all, here and now. I broke a tooth. I cracked two others. On a slice of pizza, of all things. Good grief. 

Weird? Yes.

Inconvenient? Sure.

Tragic? Hardly.

Don't cry for me, Argentina. Get over yourself, Jo. 

Today I hope you can see the skyscraper of blessings.

I suppose today is the day to share with you my "Don't I feel sorry for myself ?" music. Whenever I feel the need to immerse myself in the woes of the day, this is what I listen to. It's Chopin, of course (could anyone do pathos better than Chopin? I say no). This is his "Nocturne #20 in C sharp Minor" played by violinist Joshua Bell.

You may want to bookmark this piece of music for future reference. If the situation warrants, there's nothing better than sitting down for a listen and allowing yourself a good sob session. 

Just don't do it over a broken tooth...enjoy.

ble