Today’s card is because of yesterday’s A.Word.A.Day email. Stick with me. I’ve been a dedicated follower of the AWAD emails for years. It’s the perfect daily dose of brain food.
This week’s theme is “There’s a word for it.” I’ve learned gelasin, sprezzatura, polylemma and then today, I saw one that I thought I knew.
Schadenfreude.
Well, not only was I wrong about what I thought it meant–happy times–when I found out what it did mean, I learned that this is a word I cannot like. One part of it I love!
Freude means joy.
Seek Freude, y’all.
Nah….probably not.
But! Schaden? That means to damage or harm.
The word means “pleasure derived from another’s misfortune.”
Ugh. Yuck. Ouch.
What an ugly, ugly concept. How can you find joy in someone else’s unhappiness?
Well, I did just that last November late one Tuesday night. I got a lot of schadenfreude from watching the Fox News team try to spin that election. Part of me was meanly glad to watch them fumble. Part of me was not proud of me. At all.
Now that I have a word for what I did? Ewwww. I almost feel like I need take a shower. I mean…how ugly could I be?
I know people who get a lot of schadenfreude out of others misfortune. They spread it around the net. They hang it out so everyone can see.
I used to be friends with someone who did that.
I used to be someone who did that.
Damage someone’s joy. Get joy from someone’s damage.
Both concepts are nothing like I want for myself. Nothing like I want my legacy to be.
Should I die tomorrow, I don’t want the world remembering me as a mean woman who got bitter pleasure from others’ failures.
I want to be remembered as someone who sought joy regardless. As someone who could be happy for the successes of my friends and neutral towards those who don’t hold me in high esteem.
Yeah. That word really shook me to my core. Sad world we live in when we need words that describe that behaviour.
For my 180 seconds today, I’m going to focus on being kinder. I’m going to continue to stay joyful and steer clear of being mean. That includes mean sites that use bullying as humor. Thanks to Ellen Degeneres for that reminder.
Can you commit to that with me? Three minutes of avoiding mean-spirited sites and being mean-spirited?
Seek joy, Y’all. Pass it on.
Oh, that is a tough word, isn’t it? And sometimes so insiduous. How about just being glad that it isn’t you that’s suffering something? Not that you wish the other the badness, but you certainly don’t want it for yourself… Thank you for the reminder to be mindful, and to seek joy every day! 🙂
This is great, Arwen. I love learning new words! I don’t think we have a word for that, do we?