The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Ecclesiastes 7:4
I received a phone call from a friend recently. She is now a widow, living alone, sad, but with a stubborn defiance about her. "I think we should laugh more," she said. I have known her, after a foray into humor, to suddenly begin crying.
In all my years I have never known such a family as hers. Every member has either been in jail or prison. I once received a call asking me to notify her that her son had just shot her brother. In each leg,"kneecapping" him so he was unable to walk. He had learned about this while in prison. Later, this son died of an accidental drug overdose. Her other son died as a suicide, of the same cause. Much reason for humor there!
How I wish this lady would humble herself and mourn. She still believes her family members were just "unfortunate". She tries to maintain a facade of bravery and nonchalance. Truly, just being sad does not make one wise. But being wise sure can make you sad.
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