Two Sylvias' Weekly Muse: December 25, 2022

Issue 35

Greetings Poets and Writers!

This week is a great time to share an interesting article we came across which talks about how we can more fully celebrate the successes of our friends and associates. Sharing in the success of others is especially important in our writing communities—think of all the opportunities out there for poem acceptances in journals, manuscripts winning prizes and becoming books, writing grants, writing awards, being named a local or state poet laureate, etc. Even if you are the type of writer who simply writes for the joy of it without thinking too much about publication and prizes, you are still usually connected to other writers who are pursuing “success” in the field.

Most of us know the term schadenfreude (derived from the German words for “damage” and “joy”), which basically is the “joy” we might feel when others have misfortune. Maybe you find yourself feeling uncomfortable when you take a secret delight in the bothersome and obnoxious person at work who is su…