On Absurdity

In therapy today I raised my therapist's eyebrows by saying that I feel like there's something absurd about human interactions and interpersonal relationships. I think I have relatively well-tuned social relatedness, but I get particularly squirrelly when there's something about a situation that I don't understand, or in turn, I feel as if I have been misunderstood. It's easier to throw up my hands and just say, "This is ridiculous!" than try to understand the thoughts and feelings of someone who behaves in a way that I can't imagine myself behaving. I think poetry is a good way to explore the absurdity of the mundane. Yesterday I happened upon a workshop at the Loft Literary Center here in Minneapolis about using humor to access feelings in writing, titled "Funny is the New Deep." My partner and I often laugh about how absurd some of the idiosyncrasies of human sexuality are. I cope with confusing situations, however emotionally "deep" and difficult they may be for others, mostly by laughing and making dark (read: not offensive) jokes. As a crier, and an ugly one at that, I often have to embrace the adage that, "You have to laugh, or you'll cry."