Bittersweet -- what the heck is that about?

Have just finished a tasty, fancy chocolate: pear, fig balsamic vinegar, bleu cheese, hazelnut.  I like dark chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, and even milk chocolate if it is the good stuff.  I like the odd mix of sour, tart, bitter, and sweet.  And yes, chocolate is like life (not the other way around, as chocolate reigns supreme in my mind).

I have started my new, dream job, and I'm really happy.  Well, it is my current dream job.  Dreams change, as we all know, and sometimes you just have to say, "Fine, this is my dream NOW so I'm just going to bleepin' GO WITH IT and quit worrying about if it is THE DREAM or not.  Sheesh."

 I have a beautiful friend who is facing some not-so-easy times right now.  The bitter times versus the sweet.  Key words there...bitter now versus sweet earlier.  Wait, wasn't there also a time when things were EVEN WORSE than they are now?  Hmmm...probably.  Yeah, come to think of it.  Well, doesn't make now any easier, but maybe it could.  Hmm.

The other night hubby and I watched Darby O'Gill and the Little People.  This is an awesome old movie, and if you haven't seen it you must.  Stars a very young and virile Sean Connery, SINGING.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTwmjOySDjA

Anyhoo, there is a scene in the movie where Darby, the old-timer who talks to the leprechauns, is trying to decide what wishes to make now that he has caught the leprechaun king. King Brian tells him to hurry up and wish for gold like everyone does.  But Darby says, "What good is gold if a man be too sick, or too sad to enjoy it?"  Well said, Darby.  At another point in the movie, Darby relays his stories to friends in the pub.  One tells him to wish for happiness.  Darby's answer?  "People need the bitter with the sweet." 

This is the point in the blog where I amaze you with my arcane and esoteric knowledge, as well as my ability to find connections where none exist.  I mean, to find meaningful connections.  The movie is based on stories by one Herminie Templeton Kavanagh.   The title of her book?  The Ashes of Old Wishes And Other Darby O'Gill Tales. Wow.  There is food for thought.

Maybe we could allow the ashes of our old wishes to just lie there.  They were once THE DREAM, the wish, the everything.  It was great.  It was all-encompassing.  It was going to last forever.  But it didn't.  And, you know, that is OK.  Ashes nourish the soil.  Rich soil grows all sorts of things.  Final thought?  

Don't bother looking for the greener grass when you're already on the side of the fence with the flowers.

Be happy, dear friend, and dear friends, and be ready for the sweet when it returns.