Letting "Let It Go" Go

Even the cultured and evolved among us are not above blaming others for our problems. And justification may be easily come by. If your newly repaired fuel pump gives out during the first week out of the garage, you may curse the mechanics for not doing a better job. If your mother says she’s staying home for Christmas this year instead of coming out for her usual visit, you may remember the tiff she got into with your spouse last year and carry resentment against them both until that space in your brain finds something else to worry about. Bearing a grudge usually doesn’t last too long unless you really work at keeping it alive, which of course is unhealthy and not recommended.

But some grudges rekindle themselves through no fault of your own. Parents, be warned. You may be about to attend a happy event, masking the rage you feel all the while. Remember a couple of years ago, when the Disney animated movie Frozen came out? Remember how the song “Let It Go,” the earworm-to-end-all-earworms, began to play itself in your auditory cortex on auto-repeat until you wanted to move to a forgotten village deep in the Amazon rainforest where maybe — please, God — they hadn’t heard of that movie?