Not taking it personally

This is another philosophical post. And the question I’m pondering this morning is: what the fuck? In fact, for the sake of clarity, let me be more specific: what the actual fucking fuck, please?

I don’t believe in bad luck. I don’t believe in the world turning against you; the universe (or whatever you want to call it) is neither good nor bad, and it certainly isn’t out to get you. I have no tolerance for “poor me”, in myself or others. But I don’t believe in coincidence, either. I don’t deny there’s an element of random in the events of our lives, but still, somewhere, on some level, there’s a connection to be made, an understanding to be gained. The law of attraction is real, and what you perceive as your reality is constantly readjusting itself to match your thoughts and your beliefs. What you dwell on, you get more of; what you put in is what you get back. Your attitude shapes your experience.
    Which brings me right back to the profound philosophical conundrum of what the fuck. Because not taking it personally is all good and wise but this, in list form, is my one-thing-after-the-other in the space of three short weeks:

    Multiple powercuts (island-wide)
    Telephone pole going down in my actual back yard (personal, plus collateral damage)
    Total failure of septic tank (personal)
    Sudden death of washing machine (personal)
    Unprecedented acute asthma attack (as personal as it gets)

That’s quite a lot of things, but wait. I’m not done. I thought I was done and yesterday I gave myself a stern talking to, performed a ritualistic sage-burning tour of the house, and declared whatever the fuck that was over. And then I changed into yoga gear, pulled my bedroom door shut so the cats wouldn’t climb onto my bed, and rolled my mat out in preparation for a long overdue, restorative yoga session. I remembered I’d left the light on in the bedroom; I tried to go back in, and slammed straight into the door. I tried again. I turned the handle and pushed. The handle turned, but nothing happened: the door remained totally unmoved. I threw myself against it half-heartedly a couple of times, but all I got out of it was a dull thud and a sore shoulder. I was locked out.
    And – praise my attitude – I laughed. I thought you are fucking kidding me, but I laughed, and then I went out in leggings, vest top and bare feet (all my things were in the inaccessible bedroom) and knocked on my neighbour’s door.
    ‘Please help me,’ I said. ‘I have no shoes.’
    ‘What happened?’ Manolis asked at the bedroom door.
    ‘Nothing. I just shut it.’
    He jiggled the handle; he twisted and turned it. He pushed and pulled and tapped and frowned a lot, while I stood beside him and laughed at every failed attempt.
    ‘I don’t understand,’ he said. ‘From one moment to the next?’
    ‘From one moment to the next.’
    He went away and came back with tools. He picked and poked at the handle, took out a screw, twisted it back in, as tight as it would go. Nothing.
    ‘It’s having none of it,’ he said, scratching his head. ‘It makes no sense.’
    I laughed again, and brought out the electric drill. A hole in the door and a lot of fidgeting with three separate screwdrivers, and the catch finally released, throwing Manolis halfway across the room. I applauded as he straightened up, apologising for having entered my bedroom.
    ‘You are a hero,’ I told him. So many people have deserved that title lately; too many people have had to come to my rescue.
    Manolis smiled. ‘Just don’t tell your mother we put a hole in the door.’
    I wedged it open as Manolis gathered his tools. ‘It still makes no sense,’ he said in parting.
    I shrugged and laughed, and my open bedroom door was a happy ending.

But wait, not yet: it still isn’t over. As I smoked a cigarette and snorted intermittently at the ridiculous events of the last hour, I noticed that my dehumidifier, which had been humming away contentedly, keeping the house relatively warm, had stopped. This isn’t unusual: it’s on a setting where it turns itself off when it detects a certain level of humidity in the air that it deems acceptably low, and starts up again when it rises – same as a radiator with a thermostat. So I don’t know what made me pay attention this time; I don’t know what made me get up and go over there and check. The hum and pause of the dehumidifier is the background noise of my daily life. But I checked, and I saw that its power light had blinked off. Baffled, I pulled the plug out of the socket – and nearly dropped it in shock: it had actually melted. The air instantly filled with the unmistakable, acrid smell of burning plastic and imminent electrical fire. I stared at the mangled thing in my hand, blinked, and laughed. But there was a bitter edge to it this time, I admit; this time, for all of my unfaltering positivity, it started to feel like one-thing-too-many.

But was it? Was it the last thing? Is whatever the fuck that was over, or should I brace myself for more? And if I brace myself, if I anticipate it, will I be inviting it? Will I be shaping my reality to accommodate more of the same? I live my life expecting good things to happen, but it’s been one-thing-after-the-other, and I’m not sure what sense I’m supposed to make of this, what I’m supposed to understand. I can keep laughing my way through it, keep focusing on the positives – powercuts don’t last too long; telephone pole replaced and vertical; septic tank drained; brand new washing machine; asthma attack a one-off; hero-neighbour and a wide open door; plug pulled out just in time – but perhaps there’s a place where it all connects. Perhaps there’s something I’m missing. For every single thing there’s been redemption, a hero, a solution, a way out or back in. Yes. A happy ending, every time. But still, seriously, what the actual fucking fuck? I’m close to the end of my philosophical tether, and I wouldn’t mind some guidance, please.

So I’m making this post interactive, and opening the conundrum up to general debate: what the fuck? Go.

Author: Daphne Kapsali

Daphne lives in Sifnos, where she writes books and collects firewood to get her through the winter. She is the author of "100 days of solitude" and another seven books, all available from Amazon. View all posts by Daphne Kapsali