“I’ll tickle your catastrophe.”

A couple of weeks ago I got a book at the library called The Standard Book of Shakespeare Quotations, and I’ve had quite a bit of fun with it.  Shakespeare has so many funny quotations in his works.  They’re especially funny when you quote them with a dignified, dramatic voice.  Here are a couple examples of some particularly funny/unusual ones:

“Your bum is the greatest thing about you.”

“Away, you scullion! you rampalian! you fustilarian!  I’ll tickle your catastrophe.”

  

“Away, you cut-purse rascal! you filthy bung, away! By this wine, I'll thrust my knife in your mouldy chaps, an you play the saucy cuttle with me. Away, you bottle-ale rascal! you basket-hilt stale juggler, you!”

“I had rather chop this hand off at a blow, And with the other fling it at thy face.”

There are so many awesome Shakespeare quotes, but my favorite is the following one from his play Macbeth: “What, you egg? Young fry of treachery!”  I think it’s actually my favorite quote of all time, to be honest.  It is just so funny to say!  Whenever I quote it I can’t help but laugh afterward.  You’ve gotta love the little things in life.  They’re what make life so worthwhile and much more interesting.  An ice cream cone, a favorite song, a sunny day, a hug…these little, sweet things make life so lovely.  An opportunity that arose last night can also be included with these little things.

It was a warm, sunny day, but a few clouds were coming in and thunder rumbled in the distance, when all of a sudden it began hailing!  My boyfriend Marshall and I dashed out and snagged a few pieces.  They were so beautiful, and it’s so amazing to think about.  Those little chunks of ice actually fell from the sky, in perfectly round pieces.  We held pieces of the sky in our hands.  Just when we thought it couldn’t get any more awesome, it stopped hailing and then began down pouring like crazy!!  So, naturally, we ran outside and into the rain.  We screamed and laughed deliriously, shaking with both exhilaration and with frigidity from the cold rain pelting down upon us.  In that moment, I felt so free, so alive.  I don’t think there’s anything better than that.  Just enjoying a simple piece of nature, feeling the rain pour down on me and not even care that my clothes are soaked.  Just letting nature take its course and marvel in it all around me…letting nature “tickle” my “catastrophe.”   

                

           This feeling that I have for running in the rain is how I should approach the rest of my life.  When things go wrong or unexpectedly, I should accept it and enjoy it.  I should let nature “tickle” my “catastrophe.”   When my life is filled with rainclouds and storms, I need to ditch my depression and instead embrace the beauty that even rainclouds and storms can have.  Because truly life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain.