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I wore one of the Red Shetland t-shirts today. I expected I'd eventually get some comment about it, and I did. I just got something I hadn't been expecting. The shirt I wore had this image or pair of images on it. The left (part of the) image is on the front and the right (part of the) image is on the back.
At the restaurant tonight, a lady spotted my shirt as she was leaving and proceeded to misread it, repeatedly, "Whatever don't kill you..." and I obliged and stood up, turned around (and brushed my hair out of the way) "...maims you!" One would expect that be that and a chuckle had. Nope.
"Is that an anti-hunting shirt?" "No."
"Is it about Iraq?" "No."
"Is it an anti-war thing?" "No."
...and some of this repeated with variations on the theme.
I was finally able to explain that there is a saying "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and it really isn't true. Then she claimed ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
jmaynard and I were too deep into philosophy for her or some such. One of the younger members of the party seemed to get it right off, or at least appreciated the artwork showing Red Shetland. I doubted I had time to explain anything about the character Red Shetland.
Or, what is a normal default state? Happiness and sadness both occur and are to be expected. But if a person is sad often and for long time, it might be considered a problem and treated. Part of this treatment can be anti-depressant drugs. But, are there people who are just too happy for too long? Not obsessive, not manic, not hallucinating, but just "too happy" compared to so-called normal people? Do they have some sort of pro-depressants[1] prescribed? Do they get counseling on not being so "up" and all?
I rather doubt it, but it is an interesting thought, looking at it backward from the usual. It's certainly understandable to pick the more pleasant state as the preferred default.
[1]I can't say "depressants" since depressants, as the name is used, are drugs that tend to have a calming effect. These are more anti-anxiety or tranquilizers than something to smooth off the peaks of excess happiness.
