I think I mentioned this before, but there was this Calvin and Hobbes strip I remember reading years ago. I should find it and print it out.

Bascially, Calvin is doing his Snow Art. He's made a super-deformed snowman with a wide, howling mouth, twisted limbs, and bug eyes. He calls it "The Torment of Existence Weighed Against the Horror of Non-Being".

And ever since then, that has been my definition of the human condition.

Let's stick to what I know, the Existence side of the equation. As I was telling The Vegan during one of our many spiritied philosophical debates, I believe in a balance. Humans have an extraordinary capacity for compassion, love, goodwill, and all that. But, Yin and Yang, we also have the capacity to inflict great pain and suffering.

We have highs, so we must also have lows.

When looked at in that way, it's very natural. When you think about it in a Yin/Yang kind of way, it seems a little easier to take a step back and realize that these cycles of up and down are natural, and yes, necessary.

To pull another quote from Calvin and Hobbes (one of the best things ever written/drawn, btw) "If good things lasted forever, would we appreciate how precious they are?"



But when things are low... Heh, doesn't stop it from sucking any less, does it?