Question of the Day | 05/05/2008 1:00 am

Are there ever times when life should most profoundly not be taken seriously?

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When you’re in a hard time, when things are bad, when misfortune comes “not single spies but in full battalions,” you should not take it seriously. Feel it, get through it, cope with it, but don’t take it seriously. It’s just a season. In time there will be another season in which everything is good, all flows, fortune calls. Don’t take that seriously either.

By Peggy Noonan on 05/05/2008 1:00 am

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Life should not be taken seriously most of the time. People should not be taken too seriously either. I am all for forgiving seven times seventy and getting on with it. I may like relaxing and having fun more than most people, but I do get very weary of people who take themselves and their “work” so seriously. You are going to be a long time dead. And you are not going to get any points for all those days you went to the office when you didn’t have to. Make a life that has everything in it.

By Liz Smith on 05/05/2008 1:00 am

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Everyone knows that comedy is all about timing, but it’s also about time passing. Something serious can happen to you one day — and there’s nothing funny about it at all — but somehow you’re able to laugh at it a few days later. Then again, as someone who grew up around comedy, I know that there’s precious little in life that can’t be laughed at. War, suffering, inhumanity — not funny. Pretty much everything else has a punch line.

By Marlo Thomas on 05/05/2008 1:00 am

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The big problem in the world is that politicians, murderous tribal leaders, terrorists, war makers everywhere don’t take life seriously at all. Millions of dead mean nothing. So I take other people’s lives seriously if they are suffering or dying. I think one’s own life becomes serious when illness or disability strikes. Day to day life isn’t serious at all, although much of it is very annoying.

By Joan Ganz Cooney on 05/05/2008 1:00 am

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Life taken seriously at all times—that’ll be the day for this guy. There’s too much joy in the natural world, in books, writing, art, music for me take life seriously. Life should be profoundly taken with joy at times like those. It’s to love life and the world around one. And that’s the best of all possible worlds. This doesn’t mean that I don’t the loonies in power seriously—especially if they’re C students. lol I try not to take myself too seriously—most of the time anyway :-)

By Frank Peterson on 05/05/2008 1:28 am

Frank, I always appreciate your love of life. You remind me of how important it is to stay joyful

By FrannieEm on 05/05/2008 1:39 am

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Thank you very much Frannie—but you must know I also have my days of sadness and memory too. Sometimes those memories are not always that good. But I buck up in a day or two and am back to my old self :-)

By Frank Peterson on 05/05/2008 2:00 am

Frank—For those of us who’ve made it in life very easy to say basking in our success not to take things seriously. We forget too easily for most of us getting to where we ended up required taking things very seriously. The last thing I’d advise my young adult children now launching careeers and families is not to take life seriously.

By DrMarkKlein on 05/05/2008 10:15 am

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Mark—I’d have to be in another galaxy to even consider agreeing with you.

By Frank Peterson on 05/05/2008 12:09 pm

Mark, one needs to stay focused when they are young and building careers and families. And, one needs to learn how to take risks only after careful consideration of the consequences. But, you are completely incorrect about taking life seriously. When I think of all the travesties and heartbreaks I have known, I do not know what I would have done if I had not had a sense of humor and a love of the arts. So, I would say to you, ease up and enjoy every moment, and show gratitude for your lot in life. Then, go play for awhile because no matter how serious life is, being too serious doesn’t change anything.

By DianaT on 05/05/2008 2:01 pm

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Diana, You are SO right. There is a significant difference between being focused on goals and one’s ambitions and being too serious! Also, it is possible to seriously focus, but perhaps the word we are looking for is not to have such heaviness about goals and ambitions. It is important to set one’s course and stay the course, but enjoyment and fun can be part of the accomplishment of goals, too! Thank you for your contributions. You are a gift to today.

By JBoylynn on 05/05/2008 3:12 pm

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J, thank you for the compliment. And, I agree that it is very different to be focused on goals and being serious all the time. “Getting there” is not what life is all about, and it certainly doesn’t teach us compassion and un-conditional love, which, when we do learn on our journey, leads us to see life without the burdens. Have you ever noticed the twinkle in the Dalai Llama’s eyes? Same with Ghandi.

By DianaT on 05/05/2008 10:52 pm

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There is a profound difference between being frivolous and slipshod and being able to bear the burdens of life lightly on one’s shoulders. The reality of life is that it’s short & we die. In the middle we have to make the best of it - and often the best way to avoid despair is to see how ludicrous it all is - and yes, not take ourselves too seriuosly!

By PamelaMunro on 05/05/2008 7:16 pm

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Diana, Pamela, J Boylynn—-I love your comments. Just like dancing, music, art, dressing, cooking anything is balance and a certain lightness. When we read the diaries of the Anne Franks….it is so admirable that in the midst of troubles someone finds beauty. For the last 7 years it seems we’ve—at least I have lived on a split screen. All the awful on one side that I’m keenly aware of……and all the wonder on the other. It has sharpened my sense of being in the moment, and given me a hightened sense of being. Very aware of it all—and really appreciative of the smallest bit of magic. Really, since we’ve been living with this national horror….a flower growing out of a crack in a sidewalk can send me reeling in joy. So—at least there’s that….but what a cost. Thanks for your wonderful comments that make me feel even more alive.

By zutalors on 05/05/2008 11:01 pm