Week 2 – Prompt from Twain

(Pg. 30)  Everyone else is seasick except him.  He pleasantly greets people as the emerge onto the deck and they respond by saying, “Oh, my!” and find a place to heave.

 

“I knew what was the matter with them.  They were seasick.  And I was glad of it.  We all like to see people seasick when we are not, ourselves.  Playing whist by the cabin lamps when it is storming outside is pleasant; walking the quarterdeck in the moonlight is pleasant; smoking in the breezy foretop is pleasant when one is not afraid to go up there; but these are all feeble and commonplace compared with the joy of seeing people suffering the miseries of seasickness.”(p. 32)

I was wondering why Twain would state that he took pleasure in other people’s suffering.  As we have all gone through an adjustment to a different culture and the obstacles we have encountered, I have been able to empathize with the process other people have in reaction to change.  I went through my own misery adjusting and coming face to face with my own limitations.  I think I have had to distance myself a little when I see others in misery, but I cannot say I was glad.  But then, I was glad it wasn’t me experiencing that particular brand of suffering.  After all, my brand of misery is my own personal process that I have become familiar with.  I realize it is normal for all of us to go through some misery in adapting to such changes and the challenges of having to work harder to feed ourselves, to use the toilet, to find ATM’s, to speak to someone on the street or in the shops.  I just keep coming back to something I have chosen to hang onto, I’m in Italia or I had pizza and beer in Rome.  When dreams come true, the everyday challenges become exaggerated, but it is still a dream come true.