I was eighteen when I first heard Only Happy When It Rains. (I know it had been out for three years, but I never heard Garbage until Push It came out.)
I should’ve heard it as soon as I was born. I could’ve saved myself 18 years of trouble.
There are few things as consoling as actually being sad when things are bad. Not just sublimating, but actually validating.
There is this saying, attributed to 洞山良价 / Dòngshān Liángjiè (if so, that was 1200 years ago):
When it’s hot, be hot. When it’s cold, be cold.
I guess also when it’s bad, be sad. It’s so basic but sometimes so difficult to realize. It’s easy to get tripped up and start thinking “this is wrong, being sad is wrong, I need to stop it”. OK, now I have two problems.
Oh come t’inganni
se pensi che gl’anni
non hann’ da finire!
Bisogna morire.