On Misery: Latent Inner Strength

Rather than distancing myself from the Triumvirate of Misery (i.e. "...sad...grief...pain.") I use it as an opportunity to cultivate and focus my energy in order to enhance familiarity with myself. Misery draws (maybe drags is more accurate) my attention more fully in to the issues I'd prefer to forget or ignore. I can choose to face them instead of quippishly excusing the significance of addressing them or romanticizing my capability to cope with them. I give myself over to the sensation of misery, learn what I can from it, and move on. This is how I try to deal with my "Dire Wolves of Misery".

Currently, I choose to believe that their purpose for giving chase is to challenge me so that I might confront them and grow in my acceptance, love, and understanding of self, so to realize my potential. They enrich my life, guide, and nourish me. In nurturing my understanding of misery, what was once an intruder is now a welcomed guest. If viewed as before, then the purpose of the wolves is relegated to the act of mangling my existence. I assign them new meaning, and name them. I disempower them. They are well-behaved to the extent that I am aware and intolerant of their mischief. Misery's affect is in a person’s attitude towards it.

This silliness is an expression of a tireless conflict between self-concept and ideal self; it is the aim to bring about a reconciliation between who I 'think' I am and who I'd like to become;  or where I am at in life and where I'd like to be. Writing helps clear and focus my mind. It is one of many ways that a person can exercise their responsibility to reflect. Writing invokes within me a meditative state. One in which my festering pessimism & skepticism or my meandering thoughts are transmuted in to something more meaningful or useful. And while my writing or anyone’s artistic endeavor may never eliminate the intrinsic nature of misery, we can certainly choose to act upon it differently. We can improve our relationship with it by altering our understanding of it. We can acknowledge its presence and reevaluate our attitude towards it. When we achieve this we will have adapted and grown. We will have evolved our understanding of self and advanced to "higher ground".

From there we'll have a clearer view of the wolves' den—the mind. The mind is their dwelling place. The Dire Wolves of Misery represent for me our self-limiting beliefs. They are our insecurity, regret, longing, and worry. They are unresolved issues. When I have appropriately addressed these issues within myself, I can move beyond them, freeing up that vital energy and precious time for experimenting with a healthier or more fulfilling alternative way of living than before. When I have made peace with the pack, my thoughts then serve rather than torment me. Here in this place a person’s life may begin to take on new meaning.

Be Well, Loved Ones...

Albert