Toughen Up, Buttercup!

As an adult, anger (or severe irritation) has been a constant companion of mine. “When I end up yelling, it's not really deliberate. It's usually out of some moment of passion or frustration or real desire to get unstuck.[i] Where there is shouting, there is no true knowledge.[ii]

At times, I tend to be too highly emotional about everything around me to see reality. “Man up”[iii] needs to become a life motto for me. Unfortunately, “I’ve become a yeller. I hate yellers.[iv]

At times, I can be so jaded (and grumpy) that I wonder if this popular holiday song is the lyrics of my life:

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
You really are a heel.
You're as cuddly as a cactus;
you’re as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch.

You're a bad banana
with a greasy black peel.

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch.
Your heart's an empty hole.
Your brain is full of spiders,
You've got garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch.

I wouldn't touch you, with a
thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch.
You have termites in your smile.
You have all the tender sweetness
Of a seasick crocodile, Mr. Grinch.

Given the choice between the two of you
I'd take the seasick crocodile.

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
your soul is full of gunk, Mr. Grinch.

The three words that best describe you,
are as follows, and I quote: "Stink, stank, stunk."

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch,
with a nauseous super-naus.
You're a crooked jerky jockey,
and you drive a crooked horse, Mr. Grinch.

You're a three- Decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich
with arsenic sauce. [v]

 

The Bible always provides me with excellent advice (if I will only obey its wisdom):

 

1.  ^“Gentle words cause life and health; griping brings discouragement.”[vi] How often have I been proficient at the back part of that verse (instead of the front)?

 

2.  “Keep your temper under control; it is foolish to harbor a grudge.” [vii]I am a master in holding grudges. My proficiency level needs to decrease to amateur level.

 

3.  “Be patient with one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, forgive that one. Christ forgave you. So you should forgive each other.” [viii]I often fail to give others the benefit of the doubt. “Guilty” is usually the verdict as I am also the judge and jury (in my mind).

 

The lyrics below raise the uneasy question of why do I get so angry over those individuals that are so important to me:

 

1.   You always hurt the one you love
The one you shouldn't hurt at all
You always take the sweetest rose
And crush it till the petals fall
You always break the kindest heart
With a hasty word you can't recall
So If I broke your heart last night
It's because I love you most of all[ix]

 

2.   Here we go again,
Hurting each other for no reason
Wondering why we keep repeating
The same mistakes.
Seems the more we give,
the more we're disillusioned
what is it we're doin?
Are we so scared of give and take?[x]

  

WARNING: “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” [xi]

The Grinch

 

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[i] Quote by Christine Quinn

 

[ii] Quote by Leonardo da Vinci

 

 

[iii] The blunt phrase, “toughen Up, Buttercup,” refers to someone who needs to emotionally grow up and deal with the reality of their existence.

 

[iv] Quote from the series, Grey’s Anatomy

 

[v] Lyrics to song, "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch" from How the Grinch Stole Christmas 

 

[vi] Proverbs 15:4 (TLB)

 

[vii] Ecclesiastes 7:9 (GNT)

 

[viii] Colossians 3:13 (New Testament) (WE)

 

[ix] Abridged lyrics to the song, "You Always Hurt The One You Love"

 

[x] Abridged lyrics  to the song, "Why Do We Always Hurt the One We Love" (Dan Hill)

 

[xi] Quote by author, Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)