"For what do we live for, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?' - Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice
Posed as a rhetorical question, a philosophical question, an existential question, Jane Austin brings lightness to life and provides a thought-provoking inquiry to readers in just one simple sentence: Is the greatest purpose in life not to make jokes?
Imagine this: a world where everyone is serious, straight-faced, and melancholy. I wouldn't want to live in it, would you? So it's not silly or far-fetched to believe one of the most important things in life is to tease others or make situations light-hearted.
I, personally, try to find the light in everything. I can't stand it to listen to others fight. It makes me uncomfortable, and I feel bad for the people bickering for being in such a negative headspace. I often try my best to interject and make a joke to lighten the mood.
Especially from an outside perspective, it's easy to see how certain situations are not worth getting upset over or directing anger at someone else. Oftentimes, it's just a silly mistake or problem that will end up being insignificant in only a moment's, time so I try hard to avoid these negative situations, and not let minor inconveniences take over my mood.
On Halloween, I had a wardrobe (costume) malfunction that only my boyfriend was around to help me fix. Unfortunately, it was taking a little too long to alter my dress. I was getting frustrated because I wasn't able to take care of it myself, and I couldn't figure out how to use my words to explain to him what needed to be done. My boyfriend was getting frustrated with the safety pin, and then I was getting frustrated at him for being frustrated at the safety pin, and he was getting frustrated at me for being frustrated at him for being frustrated at using the safety pin.
Wheewww, deep breath. I couldn't let this ruin the fun night ahead of us! I had to take a step back and assess the situation. The dress was not that big of a deal, and we ended up communicating and figuring it out! I just needed to be more mindful of how I was feeling, and crack a few jokes and laughs to lighten the mood.
So it actually is true: There is nothing more to live for "but to make sport of our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn."
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