I’ve been cursed.
No….really….I have!
My counselor, Dr. B, has cursed me. He informed me that I “live in interesting times”. He tried to tell me that it was an old Chinese curse, but I Googled it and found out the truth here if anyone is interested in the history of this saying.
When he first told me the saying, I misunderstood him and thought he said it could either be a blessing or a curse, so I was trying to be positive and call it a blessing to those I told about it. He informed me at our next appointment that I was wrong. So much for being positive.
He also told me about how the Chinese symbol for “crisis” or “chaos” can also mean “opportunity”, that its meaning is something along the lines of “out of chaos comes opportunity”. Or, at least, that’s how I heard it when he tried to tell me the story. I went home from that appointment excited about the possibility that I had finally found something that I would actually consider tattooing on myself.
You see, I have no tattoos. Not that it really matters, but a lot of my friends have at least one, usually multiples, and I often find myself wondering why it appeals to them. They all have different reasons, but I’ve been pretty steadfast in the belief that nothing is going on my body permanently unless it holds great significance for me. Something about how “out of chaos comes opportunity” really appealed to me and got me to the point of actually wanting to go through with it.
This is a HUGE deal for me. Heck – I won’t even put stickers on my car because I can’t commit to the thought of them being there long term. And let’s face it – if I put a sticker on my car – it’s going to be there until it peels off or I sell the car because who has time to always be changing stickers on their car?
So – I Googled the crisis/chaos equals opportunity symbols in Chinese to make sure I had the right symbols and found this link. Yep, the story he told me about the characters is also false.
{sigh} So much for my awesome tattoo idea.
I’m beginning to believe that my counselor isn’t really big on research. It’s a good thing I like him.
Back to living in interesting times. You see, I started this blog to have a record of my life as it seemed like I was always dealing with one crisis or another. I figured I really needed to be journaling about it, because you never know when you’re going to need to remember details. I’ve been involved with enough courts over the last 7 years to know that it can be important!
I think that most who read my blog can agree – my life is certainly interesting!
Okay – maybe it’s not really interesting to the vast majority of people out there, but it is certainly keeping me on my toes!
I still believe that leading an interesting life can either be a blessing or a curse – depending on how you look at the world around you at any given moment. Take our local 4th of July celebration Hun, Buddy and I attended. It was packed with a lot of people – I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 100,000 plus people there.
The celebration was awe-inspiring – I love fireworks! There was even a short intermission in the show while the fire department put out the multiple fires that the shells had set off. The fires were close enough to the remaining un-fired shells to have the show organizers concerned about safety. We didn’t have anything as exciting as the chaos in California, but it was concerning enough for me to give Buddy a short talk about what to do if something DID happen, people panicked and where we would meet up if there was a stampede and we were separated. I’m glad we had that little talk because when we got home from the show, that’s when we were already seeing images of the firework-show-gone-bad on the news.
***Little known fact – I attended a regional gathering of pyrotechnic geeks many years ago and I gained a huge appreciation for the power behind fireworks. I’ll never forget the lead tech answering the question about will the show go on if it’s still raining (there was a heavy mist that day). He said they would fire the shells off through the tarp, no problem, and went on to tell the story about how they tested 10” shells with various materials. He stated that a 10” firework shell (standard size for the professional shows) would burn through a plywood sheet that was ½” thick and still rise high enough to explode at its proper altitude without slowing down. That’s some serious fire power there.***
So – even in common events, it seems like I cannot lead a boring life. Since my counselor is wrong, I’m still trying to take the angle of it being a blessing though.
After all – if it wasn’t a blessing to lead an interesting life, I wouldn’t have posted the following on my Facebook wall:
“Never in a million years would I have ever thought I’d be giving thanks for a flash light app in a port-a-potty!”
Too funny! I do have more tattoos than I ever expected to have. And looking at me, I’m not the tattoo type, which makes me love them even more!
And, you can look at that phrase as a blessing if you want! You know me – I’m all about making the situation positive, you do live in interesting times and that’s pretty darn cool!
I love your tattoos! Actually – I love most of the tattoos on our friends – they are an identification of you. Speaks to your story. I just can’t seem to get on that same page – and that’s okay – I’ll love your tats from afar! 🙂
That works!
No tattoos here either. Was working on an event a few years ago where they accidently lit a large pile of fertilizer on fire – my main reaction was “Wow! Never knew bullshit burned like that!” Anyway, I find reading about your life interesting – definitely beats watching the pain dry – sending you lots of love and can’t wait for your next installment.
Awww! Thank you! And I’m LOL at the bullshit comment – that’s great! 🙂
ah…living in interesting time! yes I do believe it could be accepted either as good or bad…but…I think that it’s meaning is more to the insult end…I know that I’ve heard it used in that sense, ie, a person who lives in interesting times…has no time for reflection and peace!
as to what is or isn’t a proper Chinese character…I don’t know them. I do know runes and you really do want to ‘write’ the rune correctly! Too many try to be ‘clever’ and end up in doo-doo.
my skin is virgin…no tattoos, but my companion got a yin/yang when he got his first Black Belt at the age of 69! (today’s his birthday 72) and he’s still hasn’t gotten around to getting the other symbols he wanted.
Congratulations to your companion! I hope I’m as feisty as they are at that age….tattoos and all!
thanks…I do Ashtanga yoga and have more affinity to Hindi characters. To keep being feisty one must move and be engaged in what ever activity makes you feel good. we bike on a trail that’s 7 miles round trip, daily during the season…gym in the winter…and I must get off this computer to get ready…he’ll be here with my bike in 30 minutes…
YOU GET A TAT AND I’LL SEND YOU TO YOUR ROOM WITHOUT DESSERT!!!!!!!!!!
Snort!
Like that’s a threat! I live in a house with 4 teenagers – who says I get any dessert anyway? It’s always gone before I get any.
And don’t you know what’s in my room? Silence – golden silence! And a TV, and my laptop, and my candy stash….
OOPS!!! I said too much!
😛