I agree with Dr. Neil B. Shulman. In “Humor and Medicine,” he writes:
“Life is the dash between two numbers on a tombstone. So we should try to make that dash as joyous and healthy for ourselves as possible -- as well as help everyone else’s dash.”
But, sometimes, that’s so difficult.
I don’t remember much about my great uncles anymore, but one still stands out in my mind because he really needed psychological help – something not available in the 1950s in rural America.
In almost every conversation with family and friends, he would revert to his habit of bragging that his “this” and his “that” were “the best.” I avoided him whenever I could.
As a 13-year-old, I remember asking myself why he had become so narcissistic in a family of laid-back German Lutherans. I probably should have tried to find out more by listening to him more but, doing so, was exhausting.
* When have you successfully side-stepped a toxic individual?
I agree with Dr. Neil B. Shulman. In “Humor and Medicine,” he writes:
“Life is the dash between two numbers on a tombstone. So we should try to make that dash as joyous and healthy for ourselves as possible -- as well as help everyone else’s dash.”
But, sometimes, that’s so difficult.
I don’t remember much about my great uncles anymore, but one still stands out in my mind because he really needed psychological help – something not available in the 1950s in rural America.
In almost every conversation with family and friends, he would revert to his habit of bragging that his “this” and his “that” were “the best.” I avoided him whenever I could.
As a 13-year-old, I remember asking myself why he had become so narcissistic in a family of laid-back German Lutherans. I probably should have tried to find out more by listening to him more but, doing so, was exhausting.
* When have you successfully side-stepped a toxic individual?
Avoiding toxic individuals is often difficult during the holidays, but gets easier as I age and assert my right to be me.