Dear So and So,
I don't know what it is about sponges. People seem to love putting them in the middle of things they don't want anything to do with. I feel Stealers Wheel describes my feelings perfectly.
"Well, I don't know why I came here tonight. I got a feeling that something ain't right."
Clowns to left of me, jokers to the right, here am I stuck in the middle with you.
Yes, I'm stuck in the middle with you and I'm wondering what it is I should do."
A clown and a joker have a disagreement. What to stick in the middle of it? A sponge. What could possibly be a better buffer than a sponge? Its gooey-ness and absorbancy create the best buffer there is. And while the two buffoons shoot water at each other out of those flower water guns clowns always seem to have around, the sponge just soaks it all in for them.
"It's so hard to keep this smile from my face, losing control, I'm all over the place.
Clowns to left of me, jokers to the right, here am I stuck in the middle with you."
Clown disagreements are usually absurd. A bit of pantomiming and over-dramatic facial expressions. A pile of assumptions and lack of clarifications. Obscene gestures. Maybe some blame rolling around in there too. And don't forget the very large shoes. Quite often, these disagreements aren't based in reality at all. Or possibly even an alternate reality created by the clowns themselves.
"Trying to make some sense of it all, but I can see it makes no sense at all.
Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor? I don't think that I can take it no more."
Despite my pantomiming, gesturing, even addressing the issues head on, people still try so hard to stick me in the middle. The "peacemaker." The "glue." All words for what I have now deemed a "sponge." Maybe sometimes the clowns should go to Wal-mart and buy their own glue. Maybe sometimes I don't want to be the sponge. Maybe they should learn to stop using those stupid flower water guns and COMMUNICATE once in a while. "I feel X, when you do Y, and I would like Z." Easy cheesy. Therapist approved.
"Clowns to left of me, jokers to the right, here am I stuck in the middle with you."
I may get stuck in the middle a lot. But who says I can't jostle things up a bit? I can bring my own flower power water gun! Never underestimate the power of a sponge with a water gun. Or better yet, I can put up my green scouring pad sponge defenses! Any water those clowns/jokers/whatever they are squirt at each other "through" me will just bounce right off the green and hit them in the face.
Maybe then they'll learn that I will not absorb their conflict water anymore. And finally deal with their own problems face to face and quit putting me in awkward positions I'm not prepared for. Until they do (which may take a while), I'm working on my scouring pad. Thickening it up a bit. Finding those sponge pieces that need more protection. So it won't matter what situations I find myself in.
Love,
The Fortunate Sponge
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
I am a Fortunate Sponge. Hear me ROAR!
Dear So and So,
I am a Sponge, an "absorber." Sponges are able to feel how other people feel, but not only that, they have a tendency to absorb how others feel. Many times they can't help but absorb; the holes they have create maximum absorbancy. I have felt overwhelmed with my "sponge-i-ness" sometimes. I have felt like it is an "all bad" characteristic. But being a Sponge isn't "all bad" at all. The trick is to figure out how to control the tendency to absorb and create a protection from unwanted water. Being a sponge can actually be a super power.
So why am I a fortunate sponge? Is there even such a thing as an unfortunate sponge? Let me paint a little picture for you:
One sponge. One LARGE pile of dirty dishes. That's unfortunate.
One sponge. One bucket of water. That's one heavy sponge. How unfortunate.
One sponge. One blazing sun. That's one fried-to-a-crisp sponge. How unfortunate.
These are the day to day experiences of sponges everywhere. They are used to the point where that whatever-it's-called-outer-layer-of-dark-green-for-really-hard-to-clean-pots-and-pans falls in chunks. They absorb so much that when you poke them just a bit, water comes squirting out all over the kitchen counter. Left on the kitchen sink for days without a good rinsing and wringing out, a sponge molds and stinks up the kitchen. At the other extreme, they become so dry that they can't move anymore. Plus, some people use them to clean toilets. Ouch.
Sometimes I fall into the typical sponge experiences like the ones I've illustrated for you so far. Yet, I'm fortunate. How could this be? Let's take a look:
One sponge. One LARGE pile of dirty dishes. A bit of soap. A bit of dish soaking. How fortunate.
One sponge. One bucket of water. A wringing out, a purging. That's very fortunate.
One sponge. One blazing sun. One rainfall. That's fortunate.
After difficult sponge experiences, I end up being alright, although the situation may look very unfortunate at first. Each sponge experience teaches me a little more about what being a sponge means and how to deal with it, and I learn how to control the sponge super power a little bit more.
Eventually, I hope I will learn to:
Be more aware of what I've absorbed (my inner state) and where it is coming from.
Control what I absorb.
Control when I absorb.
Withstand a giant bucket of water.
Create a protective barrier, also known as healthy boundaries, or that whatever-it's-called-outer-layer-of-dark-green-for-really-hard-to-clean-pots-and-pans.
I'll get there eventually. One sponge experience at a time.
Love,
The Fortunate Sponge
I am a Sponge, an "absorber." Sponges are able to feel how other people feel, but not only that, they have a tendency to absorb how others feel. Many times they can't help but absorb; the holes they have create maximum absorbancy. I have felt overwhelmed with my "sponge-i-ness" sometimes. I have felt like it is an "all bad" characteristic. But being a Sponge isn't "all bad" at all. The trick is to figure out how to control the tendency to absorb and create a protection from unwanted water. Being a sponge can actually be a super power.
So why am I a fortunate sponge? Is there even such a thing as an unfortunate sponge? Let me paint a little picture for you:
One sponge. One LARGE pile of dirty dishes. That's unfortunate.
One sponge. One bucket of water. That's one heavy sponge. How unfortunate.
One sponge. One blazing sun. That's one fried-to-a-crisp sponge. How unfortunate.
These are the day to day experiences of sponges everywhere. They are used to the point where that whatever-it's-called-outer-layer-of-dark-green-for-really-hard-to-clean-pots-and-pans falls in chunks. They absorb so much that when you poke them just a bit, water comes squirting out all over the kitchen counter. Left on the kitchen sink for days without a good rinsing and wringing out, a sponge molds and stinks up the kitchen. At the other extreme, they become so dry that they can't move anymore. Plus, some people use them to clean toilets. Ouch.
Sometimes I fall into the typical sponge experiences like the ones I've illustrated for you so far. Yet, I'm fortunate. How could this be? Let's take a look:
One sponge. One LARGE pile of dirty dishes. A bit of soap. A bit of dish soaking. How fortunate.
One sponge. One bucket of water. A wringing out, a purging. That's very fortunate.
One sponge. One blazing sun. One rainfall. That's fortunate.
After difficult sponge experiences, I end up being alright, although the situation may look very unfortunate at first. Each sponge experience teaches me a little more about what being a sponge means and how to deal with it, and I learn how to control the sponge super power a little bit more.
Eventually, I hope I will learn to:
Be more aware of what I've absorbed (my inner state) and where it is coming from.
Control what I absorb.
Control when I absorb.
Withstand a giant bucket of water.
Create a protective barrier, also known as healthy boundaries, or that whatever-it's-called-outer-layer-of-dark-green-for-really-hard-to-clean-pots-and-pans.
I'll get there eventually. One sponge experience at a time.
Love,
The Fortunate Sponge
A Very Brief Introduction
Dear So and So,
You are probably wondering why in the world a blog would be entitled "Musings of a Fortunate Sponge." So here is a cute, lil' ol' story for you. I was clearing out a bunch of papers and crap that had piled up in a box under my bed over the years and came across an old journal. One of the entries said something like, "I should write a blog called 'Musings of a Fortunate Sponge'." And so I have. Here it is.
Love,
The Fortunate Sponge
You are probably wondering why in the world a blog would be entitled "Musings of a Fortunate Sponge." So here is a cute, lil' ol' story for you. I was clearing out a bunch of papers and crap that had piled up in a box under my bed over the years and came across an old journal. One of the entries said something like, "I should write a blog called 'Musings of a Fortunate Sponge'." And so I have. Here it is.
Love,
The Fortunate Sponge
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