Book + Excerpt: Scream as Needed
An excerpt from, "Rule #2: Don't Be an Asshat: An Official Handbook for Raising Parents and Children" (Bacosa Books, 2016)
Because I am woefully behind on a book manuscript deadline — Prophets, Priests, Pastors, and Poets: Being and Becoming the Resurrected Christ — in lieu of new content and for the next month or two, I will share book excerpts from past book projects. I would not hate it if you bought a copy or ten :-)
Rule #65: Scream as Needed
An excerpt from Rule #2: Don't Be an Asshat: An Official Handbook for Raising Parents and Children (Bacosa Books, 2016), 95
Every once in a while, you will want to scream at the sky. Be it in anger, frustration, or jubilation, a good scream at the universe can be cathartic and good for the soul.
Scream out loud; scream out proud.
This may be a strange lesson to read because we are not really a screaming family. I am sure there have been times where you have wanted to—me too, but we have chosen sarcasm, silent stewing, and passive-aggressiveness as our modes of operation.
Again, you are welcome. ;-)
So yeah, while it’s not a big part of how we raised you, scream when you need to: when an election goes terribly wrong, when someone breaks your heart, or when your parents get in the way of you living your life as you hoped to. Screaming can release pent-up energy, it can act as a release valve for anger, and sometimes it just feels damn good.
If at all possible, as you scream, be sure to choose your location well. You don’t want to wake your neighbor’s baby, startle your drill-wielding dentist, or give the person standing in front of you in line in the grocery store a heart attack—but then again, sometimes you just can’t help it.
And finally, when it comes to screaming, when it comes from such a deep place of pain that you cannot hold it on your own, allow others into your world, so they can bear some of the weight of your pain—and in many ways scream with you.
Thanks for reading this book excerpt. All of my books can be found on bookshop.com or wherever you buy books to be added to your nightstand pile.