Live. Laugh. Love.

Am I the only one who can’t stand the moronic idea behind
Live. Laugh. Love.?

I mean, what is this supposed to inspire people to do? Am I supposed to look at this sign at someone’s house and think, “Boy, I sure wanted to kill myself but then I saw that vinyl lettering on your wall. Now everything is great!” Or, “That joke sure was funny but I don’t know what to do about it. Oh wait, there’s a sign over there that says ‘laugh’. That’s a great idea!” Or how about, “I think I will fall in love today. All I have to do is read a sign on the family room wall and–BAM–I’m in love. Easy as pie.” Or maybe, “If only there were some word to describe this feeling I have for my husband and children. Hey . . . wait a sec. Love! That’s it! Sure am glad I saw that wooden sign on my neighbor’s mantel.”

Yeah, yeah I get the idea.  It’s just supposed to inspire you to live your life fully.  But it’s such a dumb way to put it.  (Sorry if you have this phrase in your house.  Which, chances are, you do because I see this sucker everywhere.  Like on every single thing in the T.J. Maxx decor department.)  Whew, I needed to get that off my chest.  Maybe you need something like this instead:

Thank you Despair, Inc!  You make my day!
| Filed under Bad Things, IMO

19 thoughts on “Live. Laugh. Love.

  1. Thank you for speaking out on this issue. Stop the insanity! Quit writing on stuff people!

    Excuse me while I go and apply some vinyl to my front door… it's the last one I promise! *wink*

  2. Will robots really be doing my job soon? I can't wait maybe then I will be able to get a nap, or read some really great books. Yeah that sounds good to me.

    As for motivation, well lets be honest I have none right now. Thanks for making me feel like a slacker.

  3. Tell me about it, Lonna. I can hardly wait for that Mom robot to come out. Or even just that machine like on the Jetsons where you press a button for which meal you want and it comes out all prepared (and I don't mean a microwave and Lean Cuisine).

  4. The only vinyl around here actually says,

    "Mediocre is my plan!"

    I also hate to run, but I work at a gym, so I get to look like I am about to go run at any minute…

    I tend to be the type of procrastinator that only plans, I can plan and plan, just never execute!

    Oh, I am tired of telling my kids, I am NOT getting in the water!

    We should really hang out!

  5. How did you know my wall says "Live, Laugh, Love, and Faith, Family, Friends" but if it didn't… what would I have hanging there????? I'm thinking someone might be offended if I had that motivation poster! 😉

  6. Amen! I happen to agree. Seeing s it takes all kinds of things to truly motivate people to change, I highly doubt a cutesy little sign will do the trick, and they are so common, they aren't "special" at all or unique. But each to his own, right?

  7. I LOVE Despair, Inc! And have shirts and posters to prove it 😉

    Vinyl on walls isn't as big over here, which I'm quite glad about!

    C u soon!

  8. Will you still be friends with me once I tell you that I have a vinyl cutter and am always looking for ways to use it?

  9. I'm so out of it, I wasn't aware I was supposed to have that saying in my house. I guess I will have to be the eccentric person without vinyl lettering if I ever move out west.

  10. I like the variation "Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often" or whatever it says. The adverbs really do it for me.

  11. Here is my new strategy if I'm catching up on reading 11 unread posts: I opened a separate comment window I can come back to.

    1) I've never been able to talk about certain persons on my blog since they've read it all along. Maybe that's been a good thing. It does make my blog more boring.

    2) The dresser turned out GREAT!

    3) Wow, those are impressive swing leaps. Great photos.

    4) My cupboards could use a clean-out. You're ambitious. I'm not going to follow the Segullah link or I might forget to come back, but I like minivans.

    5) I can't enjoy that ad anymore now that you've pointed out that they mispronounced Bronte. I'm also not going to look up the umlaut code (even though I'm sure I have it bookmarked somewhere).

    6) I'm so happy Charlie said I'm not supposed to put mascara on the bottom lashes. I never have, but always felt sure I was doing it wrong. (I do all makeup things wrong. Not that I pay attention when I could learn better . . .)

    7) I could use a little more of that "How hard could it be?" attitude–except for that I never do get around to the things I do know how to do, so I guess it's good I don't trust myself to do car repairs or plumbing.

    8) I wonder if I've spread out my childbearing years far enough and had enough health challenges along the way that I won't be sad to leave the newborn days behind. Probably not.

    9) Arabella's gorgeous.

    10) I carefully read all the directions for those amazing cupcakes which I plan never to make.

    11) I love your Venn diagram. And I'm glad you didn't name your child the Sultan of Brunei. (Yes, I deliberately misread that sentence.)

    12) Apparently I misread the number of unread posts. And he's losing his job?! Oh, no. So sorry.

    13) "It's about as meaningful as having an awards ceremony for kids who are over four feet tall." Ha ha ha. What I resent is that Pomp and Circumstance makes me teary-eyed when there is NO good reason for it. Also, re: "People don't realize that if nobody signs up to help, we'll have to cancel the event!" PTA presidents don't realize that's exactly why nobody signs up. At least, that's why I don't.

    14) Oh man, I really should have considered the Segullah thing, shouldn't I have? But here's my confession: I *do* think of myself as a writer (even with very little to show for it) and am too proud to spend money to hang out with the women I think of as my writer friends. I guess I could have volunteered to help . . But it's kind of moot since my husband and son will be at a campout. Maybe next year I'll humble myself.

    15) My eyes just stopped working (sleep deprivation?) so I guess I'll have to come back later and see how much I still missed.

    Also, this has been fun but I think I'll have to go back to just commenting on the most recent post b/c this took forever. 🙂

  12. Ok this is HILARIOUS! I TOTALLY agree with you, I didn't get this… still don't get it, but you just put it oh so well!!

  13. I just wanted to add that I also can't stand those "Live Life Carry On" ones… or whatever, what's up with these? And are they seriously making millions over some words typed out in Times New Roman with a plain colored background? Wow.

  14. You are so right. And so smart. And I love Despair Inc. And I love you. What a great big sister. Thanks for not caving in to the whims of the masses.

  15. I'm just reminded of the vinyl lettering over the doorway at my in-laws house:

    "Remember, as far as everyone knows, we are a perfectly normal family."

  16. I just found your blog so I'm spending some time reading through your archives.

    I am laughing out loud right now because my 22 year old daughter HATES "Live, Love, Laugh"…she's says "Gross, Gag, Vomit".

    The other one I hate?

    "All Because Two People Fell In Love."

    What? All because two people fell in love, now I'm in this mess.

    Love your blog. I know you have baby fever right now but I'm going to tell you those babies grow up and their tennis shoes get real expensive.

    xoxo, Julia

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