QUOTE (dcjewbear @ May 1, 2008 - 12:30 PM)

You know, Note, I was actually shocked when you asked me if I still read you. I have never put anyone on ignore, because that's not really how I roll.
Okay, I have put two people on ignore. I can admire them for telling what I believe is the truth, to them, but do I really need to read them, when the only thing they contribute, to me, is snark? Snark can, on occasion, be a good thing. Heaven knows, you and I have indulged in it, on occasion, but to these people it seems to be all they do, and I'm tired of it
And, admit it. You love me. I love you. We're in love. In a purely platonic way, but still.
If you are talking about JustMe, I think you need to hear what he has to say! You and I sometimes take things too seriously. Is it that you can't handle snark from him because he's straight? And maybe you think that under the snark is derision for you as a person?
No way. But your posting style is funny.. all blustery and NewYorkish.. and probably even funnier to a guy from Hawaii, then an uptight New Englander..
Do you know what kind of energy it takes to maintain bad feelings? It's enormous! And draining. And it affects you physically! Some people hold on to the memory of every wrong, every insult, real and imagined, and they become their own worst enemy. You work with the public, so I can only imagine the SOBs you occasionally have to deal with. You gotta find a way to let it go before your ticker gives up! Movies only postpone the stress for a few hours.. vacations for a few weeks. Shrinks just lead you around in circles.. you gotta unload the baggage yourself.
I know this sounds new-age preachy, but this is from my own experience!
I don't know how near to death you came in your prior heart attack, but when you get a "second chance" everything is "gravy" as they say. It is all "icing on the cake". Stuff that seemed important before becomes secondary. You feel like it's all this big cosmic joke, and you are just in it to enjoy the ride. Then little by little you get dragged down to mundane concerns and old insecurities, and that free feeling is just a distant memory.
In a way, forgiving is just taking back the peace you had before it was disturbed. We sometimes act like it's a gift or concession to the other party when it is a reclaiming, not a loss.
I'm not suggesting you start dancing in the streets banging a tambourine and singing, but it costs nothing to lower the shields on the internet.
Do I love bear? Sure, but I find your posts often angry, overbearing and repetitive. We don't share many interests. But I never scroll over you.. so you are the cook in Alice in Wonderland who puts too much pepper in the soup, if the cook were a guy with less up top and more all over.
Image: A.E. Jackson, 1915