When Life Hands You Lemons...

There is no shortage of pithy aphorisms regarding adversity:

Adversity is the first path to truth. ~Lord Byron

The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials. ~Confucius

There is no education like adversity. ~Disraeli 

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. ~Kahlil Gibran

Reading trite little sayings is the verbal equivalent of taking TheraFlu when you're sick: it's never tasty, but there is some benefit in knowing that someone, somewhere, at some point, concocted something that helps you when you need it most. Trouble is, I can't stand TheraFlu (even at my lowest, sickliest point). However, it does do a body good. I can run down to the nearest pharmacy and stock up on that vile stuff...which is fine and all, but why isn't there an OTC remedy for angst? I could reeeeally use a scrip for extra-strength "Blues Be Gone" (in pill form, preferably) if such a thing existed...

For me, words and music are the constant companions which nourish my soul, which, in recent days (Oh, who am I kidding? It's been coming on for years, giving plenty of subtle clues along the way to which I've turned a blind eye, as I am wont to do - curse that lifelong bad habit!) has been in the death throes of some heinous malady that makes the flu look like a picnic. It ain't pretty, and it sure as hell hasn't been fun.

Existential crisis? Mid-life crisis? Garden-variety nervous breakdown?

Everything's a possibility; nothing is a certainty.

All I know is, I'm blogging again.

When friends fail me... when love goes sour... when Chicken Little's prognostications become reality... that's when I return to my first loves: words and music.

Let the healing and recovery begin.

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