If you are driven to distraction by the noise people make when they are eating, chewing gum, or just plain breathing, you may have misophonia — which is an actual mental condition, according to the ever-reliable internet.
You also may be a human being.
The distinction between the two seems to be a capacity for toleration.
Serena Williams’ tantrum at the U.S. Open (that’s tennis, for sports fans only interested in a ball with points) was not her first by any means. She has quite the track record, actually, of verbal abuse, court abuse, equipment abuse, and general abuse of principles of basic decency.
All of these incidents seem to have one thing in common: Serena was losing the match at the time of the incident.
There are so many satire sites out there these days, it’s tough to take any bit of ridiculousness seriously — which is, I suppose, a good thing. Anyway, I figured it was probably a gag when I saw United Airlines had denied a seat and ticket to a woman’s pet peacock, which she needed as an “emotional support animal.”
But no, this one appears to be legit.
Discomfort is the price of admission for a meaningful life, I was told recently. I wish it weren’t true, like we all do. But it is true, and I choose to accept it and embrace it instead of denying it.
Anything significant is not only going to be worth pain, it is going to cause pain.
