Writing As A Form Of Therapy

[Mazarita]

i will hold you
as best i can
without the touch
i feel your hand

vales of sorrow
a hill tomorrow
a view atop it
to spread before you

fear not though
fear there may be
we know the habit
to help the cause

if it forsakes us
we'll rest a moment
then go back home
to where we're found.

[Silenus]

Love it, Maz! 🙂

@Mazarita

[Silenus]

$uch infinite $adne$$, when all of value that a per$on $ee$ is mea$ured with dollar $ign$... what a truly $ad exi$tence, lacking in any real value... and $adly, our $weet Mother Earth continue$ to pay the ultimate price... when will the $tupid hairle$$ monkey$ learn? Or when will smarter monkeys divorce themselves from this grossly inappropriate way of measuring value and worth?

Ownership, alas, has shown itself to be a system that does not work in the best interests of country, of nature. Time and time again, over centuries, over millennia, it has shown this, and still we cling to it, because, apparently, it gives us "freedom" or "security" or somesuch thing...

I own this thing... therefore, I can do what I want with it...

Sigh...

People used to own people, back in the days of slavery... the indigenous peoples of Australia (and of pretty well everywhere else in the world) were treated as animals without rights, were treated as property...

I own this thing... therefore, I can do what I want with it...

The same pattern, repeating itself over and over again...

Ownership does this...

There is a better way, but it requires a total shakeup of the fundamental structure of our societies...

Custodianship...

Instead of owning something and using and abusing it, be a caretaker of it...

Custodians tend to that which they are entrusted to look after... custodians improve and nurture, and leave the Earth better than what it was before...

Custodianship... I care for this thing... therefore, I will do what I can to nurture it...

[Mazarita]

I agree with the ideas in your post, @Silenus. From an early age, I've not understood why humanity was not evolving as fast as possible towards better ways, at least as ideals to head towards. I've been hearing about climate change since the 70s when I was a teen. Then everybody seemed to be a skeptic about it. Now almost all of the world's scientists are saying the same thing over and over in chorus, but we can't seem to hear or understand properly. Perhaps it is inevitable that humanity will find its extinction sooner rather than later. At some point our species will become extinct, just as we all must die. It is sad that we seem to have been making this happen so quickly over the past few centuries. I also think my mental illness relates to this insanity of the world. Perhaps that is similar for others.

p.s. thanks for your comment on my poem. Your thread here has me writing poetry fairly regularly, a first in my life and a creative blessing.

[Appleblossom]

Glad you have found poetry. @Mazarita 

I have a bit of a break from formal writing, not wanting to pressure myself and reflecting on the fact I have survived, giving myself a bit of space to settle with that without shovelling on pressure to perform.

@SilenusYour last post sums up much of my thinking.

@MazaritaIt is a fair point about the extinction of humanity.  I dont think about it too much, but recently decided to let go the idea of having grandchildren as my son does not want children, so am taking on the overpopulation argument. Its an acceptance practise for me now, but not the end of the world for me anymore, as I still can think of ways to find meaning in what I do.

I actually think it is sad and unnecessary to push the money money barrow.  It hurts the people who do it as well as everybody else.

I decided a long time to include "financial viability" or "resource sustainability" as part of my conversaton practise. Not airy fairy or beliving in Santy Claus.  BUT really we just dont need so much of the stuff the average middle class person has. 

[Mazarita]

Good to see you, @Appleblossom. I understand those needs for breaks from 'formal' creativity. I do it all the time, sometimes longer, sometimes only for short durations. I never know how long it's going to be. It seems especially wise to take a break from formal writing if you feel the self-pressure is getting to the shovelling point.

One of the things I love about publishing poetry here in this thread is that it is anonymous. That has freed me to write the poetry. At some point I may get confident enough to share it publicly under my real name. But I am not attached to that idea either. I do feel a therapeutic benefit in publishing here, and that's the main thing.

Good to hear you have developed a philosophical approach to the question of grandchildren. I'm sure my mum has had to deal with that disappointment too. It's great to hear your affirmation of the meaning you find in other aspects of your life.

[Appleblossom]

Yes writing and publication are separate issues.  I am thinking about both, but really glad to say I dont feel as desperate to publish as some writers I know.  That surprised me actually. I was also singing like mad to distract me from writing and meaning of life questions.

Yes posting here is a form of publication.

Lovely to see you sis. Actually just tagged you on another thread.

Night. Need to get to sleep.

Still have 2 separate choirs to get to tomorrow.  3 performances next month.  But loving it and all the wonderful repertoire I have been doing.

[Mazarita]

Goodnight, @Appleblossom. How wonderful that you have these performances coming up and especially that you love the repertoire. Sleep well, sis.  

[Silenus]

Hi @Appleblossom, hi @Mazarita, and hi to anyone who's got their reading eyes on...

Maz... let me just stop for a moment, and thank you most humbly... your compliment means so very much to me...

Of course, the very reason I started this thread was not as a soapbox for myself, but to encourage others to embrace writing as a very important and personal form of therapy... it has changed my life beyond measure, being able to slow down my thinking and the turbulence, and to just let the words flow...

Words that connect with what I am feeling or have felt in the past... words that show the fumbling meandering journey through life, trying to improve, evolve, cope... words that speak of the missteps and the triumphs along the way...

To know that this scattering of letters across a screen can inspire even one other person to walk a similar path, or at least to express it in the universal language of the written word, well...

Heck... I'm chuffed...

Huggles, peeps...

Much love to one and all... 🙂

[Silenus]

This Cyclical Thing

After the winter comes the spring,
That's the beauty of this cyclical thing;
From dormant to vibrant, so the ebb and flow go,
Something people with bipolar viscerally know.