03.07.06
Just one psychological drama after another
Oh, drama.
Mary J. Blige wants no more of it. I, in contrast, assert that the idea of being drama-free may in fact be misguided, and quite frankly a little bit stupid. Honestly, what is this “drama” that so many people claim to be free of in their online personal ads?
In order to answer this perplexing question, I have to gather some of the more dramatic incidents in my life that have occurred over the past few months. So, it’s time to make a list!
- Running out of gas on the freeway.
- Working tons and tons of hours trying to complete a really complicated project for work to meet a really important deadline
- Having my bicycle stolen from the garage
- Linus, my kitten, jumping off the balcony and nearly killing himself
- Ending a 5-year relationship and moving across the country
- Being abandoned by someone I was dating on New Year’s Eve
Wow! That’s a lot of drama. But for some reason, when I look back at that list, I don’t really see those things as drama. They’re just things that have happened to me. So, how does that list translate into drama? I think I’ve found the key. Drama isn’t perpetuated by the things that happen to you, but how you deal with them.
Certain people claim to have the ability to avoid drama, but it seems to me that this is just a bad attempt at abstinence. Running away from life experiences to avoid dealing with them is just plain stupid. The secret to not being overwhelmed by drama is knowing how to handle it, and take it in controlled doses.
I’m not always good at that, but I’m working on it. Some of my friends might say that I thrive on drama, and maybe I do, but that’s because I don’t want my life to be boring. Would people watch Desperate Housewives if nothing interesting happened on the show? How can I be interested in my own life if nothing ever happens in it? I realize that there are no ratings at stake, and that I need to be careful not to blur the fantasy/reality line, but there is a lot to be said for a little variety.
Drama is created when you get involved with people who are … different. Drama is created when you take risks. Drama is created when you do something outside the norm. To the dismay of many of my friends and acquaintances, that pretty much is a textbook definition of my life, and there really isn’t any escaping it. Even if there was, I doubt I would ever even try.
As long as I can keep my head on straight, and I remember to reflect on rather than obsesss about the things that happen to me, I suppose there’s no harm in having a maneagable dose of drama in my life.
I like hanging out with the crazy people. I thrive on having a challenging job. Linus enjoys taking death-defying leaps from the balcony, and it certainly makes for a good story to tell. Having my bike stolen sucks, but there has to be a lesson to be learned from it.
So I say, bring it on.