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December 5, 2007
Tired of Feeling Down
Well, winter's here, the semester is almost over, the papers are stacking up, and the projects that absolutely have to get done haven't gotten done... yet. Oh, and the sun's been hiding and my light-therapy sun-lamp crapped out on me. (I need to ship that back to them one of these days.)
And then I saw that Dolly Parton, one of the primary goddesses in the gay pantheon, has a new song and video. Behold!
But wait a minute, o celestially-endowed one, I hear your complaint about complainers. I can't stand them either. They just go on and on, and it all gets so tiresome having to listen to them... But is this really advice I can use to help myself feel better, and possibly even fitter, happier, and more productive?
Oh, my. Embedding a Radiohead song with Stephen Hawking's wheelchair voice probably isn't the best mood-elevator.
But I'm still not sure that Dolly's exhortations to stop moping and:
get to livin', givin'
Don't forget to throw in a little forgivin'
And lovin' on the way
You better get to knowin', showin'
A little bit more concerned about where you're goin'
Just a word unto the wise
You better get to livin'
Are going to work for me. (Or for most people, either.) They just feel a little ... underwhelming, when coming from someone like her. As in, "that's easy for you to say, oh celestially-endowed one, but how do I do any of that?"
And then it dawned on me that exhortation might not be the best key for unlocking potential happiness. In my classes, I use exhortation to motivate students, but I also use questions. Et voila!
Maybe it's the academic in me, but I respond better to provocative questions than I do to encouraging words, especially when Dolly says "So negative the words she had to say / I said if I had a violin I'd play." That's just not nice. But when Heather Small asks:
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
It's never too late to try
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
You could be so many people
If you make that break for freedom
What have you done today to make you feel proud?
I start to feel it. I find myself thinking about what I can do to make myself feel better. I start getting creative with myself. And very little makes me feel better than when I can feel creative.
So there you have it. Watch Dolly for the raw fabulousness, the costume changes, and the awesome multiple cameos by Amy Sedaris, but watch Heather Small to shake the blues away and start feeling better. In fact, after a healthy dose of "Proud," you might even feel capable of livin', givin', forgivin' and lovin'.
Fancy that.
Posted by reparent at December 5, 2007 6:45 PM
Comments
I agree Dolly Parton is not the right messenger for a pick yourself up by the bootstraps exhortation. The country music medium lends itself to this message, as a general rule, but Dolly just seems like she's pontificating.
In contrast, "Proud" appears to come directly from the streets, to rise up from the blight of urban despair to the promise of hope for happiness. From my perspective, this is much more effective and affective than Dolly.
I also wonder what that impressive mountain peak is in the background of the grand finale . . .
Posted by: coeurlion at December 6, 2007 7:29 PM