Tragedy and Comedy

"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot." - Charlie Chaplin

Even though we are currently pushing toward the end of July, I want to take a moment to talk about how our June was filled with both tragedy and comedy.

In mid-June, we celebrated my birthday with our yearly tradition of attending and picnicking at Shakespeare on the Lawn. This year's production was the ever-infamous tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.

However, one week later we were glammed out for a night at the opera, watching the brilliant, funny, and effervescent comedy, Die Fledermaus.

Going back to back weeks from a tragic ending of a husband and wife in Shakespeare to the charming reuniting of a husband and wife in Strauss is a bit of a brief reminder of how life works: one week I could be in the depths of despair, the next week I'm on Cloud 9. That is how human emotions work.

And that is why Charlie Chaplin's quote is at the top of this posting. When I allow myself to sit at the 10 foot level view of life, I can turn everything into a tragedy. But when I fly up to the 10,000 foot level view of life, I see that God is in His heaven, and all is right with the world.

So let us enjoy both the tragedies and comedies of this life, because at the end of the day, the comedy will always come out triumphant, with the happiest of endings.