Gee, now I'm embarrassed. But I've come to see that I have a gift of a supernatural arrogance, and always have, since the age of 4. Ask my mom. It's supernatural in that I don't need any empirical evidence to support my arrogance, but that arrogance combined with the slightest smidge of occasional decency has allowed me to do things I'd just as soon do, without regard for what people will think. So, for example, I can continue to doggedly pursue things that any sane person would've rightly concluded they had no talent for. Again, ask my mom. This is perfectly true, and not self-congratulatory. Sometimes our deepest faults, no matter how hard we ply them, accidentally come to some good end. Can't we count that?

Guest's remarks remind of of when someone did our astro charts, and since my wife and I are both pisces, she thought every good thing sounded like HER, and left me twisting in the wind with all my faults on my head.

   It's not really self-congratulations to affirm one's values, to assess what has mattered, lingeringly, as opposed to all the things that one is supposed to care about in the way of accomplishments, prestige, and b.s. If people thought of it more and affirmed it more they'd have more of the freedom that always seems just around the corner, soon as I make more money, soon as I get some recognition, make my mark, soon as I look like I'm living well to other people.

    And if it is self-congratulatory, sometimes, so what. Can't you give yourself a break from regrets and self-reproach for five minutes without somebody wanting to drag you back into the pool they're pissing in? It may be awkward, but can't you reach around and give yourself a back-rub without somebody ridiculing your strained metaphor? Thanks y'all for sharing the stuff here.