Or not.
It's one of those phrases that carries ultimate authority, as if it's everyone's obligation, at all times and in all situations, to "get over" whatever comes up. It's a trump card. Whatever it is that's bothering you, saying those magic words of transcendental tough-love is supposed to reduce the impact or import or stress or trauma of anything.
Lost an argment, cat, job, or election? Get over it! Insulted by a co-worker, friend, public official, or hardware store employee? Get over it! Still lamenting your treatment by your parents/siblings, your geometry teacher's success in convincing you to hate math, or the westward movement's extermination of native Americans? Get over it!
I'm sorry I'm not a Buddha. Just like the people who are quick to remind me of the futility of my reviewing life's big and little injustices, I really ought to take a deep breath and "move forward" rather than "dwell on the past." Did you every notice how the importance of moving forward and not dwelling on the past is voiced by persons caught violating House ethics rules, federal trade regulations, environmental protection laws, or the Geneva Conventions? Better yet, change your name to Altria and buy time on NPR, that'll make it all better (insert smiley face here).
Clearly I have some anger to work through here, and hey, what's a blog for? (Answer: one part critical manifesto, one part emotional catharsis, one part friendly news and notes, one part spiritual weather report.) But I keep coming back to the fact that not everything is to be gotten over. I was reminded May 4 that some events - not all - deserve to be remembered and rehashed and reinterpreted over and over again indefinitely. And I'll probably revisit this topic, too, because I'm not over it yet.
Belaboring the obvious since 1967. "Language is a labyrinth of paths." Ludwig Wittgenstein. "Hush hush, baby don't believe a word." Corky Siegel. “Let me say this about that.” Richard Nixon. "An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write." E.B. White. "Style is based on limitation." John Hartford. "Easy reading is damn hard writing." Nathaniel Hawthorne. "I'm better off having something to get up for every morning." Edna Case.
About Me
- Sven Golly
- Writing is like prayer: say what you need to say, as if anyone is actually reading it. Assume the head is suspended from above, face the front with the mouth closed and the tongue touching the roof of the mouth. Arms, hands, and fingers hang naturally at the sides. Relax the body, clear the mind, breathe deeply. Inhale, exhale.
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