Wed, 10 Oct 2007

Leaving the Inferno

Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.

Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto XXXIV

Posted at 11:43 [/personal/catharsis] (0 comments) permalink

Thu, 12 Oct 2006

Driving

Since the accident, it has been difficult for me to get back into my normal routine of driving. Since the woman that caused the accident came across two lanes of traffic to hit my car's right rear corner (quite bizarre, I know), I much too often feel the need to look in my rear view mirrors and over my shoulder to make sure no one is about to hit my car from behind. This is especially bad when I am trying to do lane changes. Phoenix traffic makes this no easier. I noticed this week I have started to relax some, but seeing several cars coming toward me in my rear view mirror still freaks me out.

Posted at 02:07 [/personal/catharsis] (0 comments) permalink

Mon, 21 Aug 2006

Best Friend

Those of you that are close to me in real life know that my best friend recently moved away. Since I met him 3 years ago, I knew he wanted to move back to Europe, but we became such close friends I don't think anything could have prepared me for his absence.

My best friend is the most loving person I have ever met. He genuinely loves people. I have never known him to meet someone and not try to get to know them. He most often succeeds; he knows most people better after 15 minutes of talking to them than they know themselves. His talent for forging relationships makes him an excellent judge of character, and an excellent chooser of friends (though I'm biased). Even when a person has tons of flaws, he can always see their potential, and he strives to help a person reach it.

My friend's love of people makes him the most Christian person I have ever known. He has taken Jesus's commandment to "love one another" to heart. Some people are surprised that he does not go to church regularly, but that's the point: God does not live at a church. He lives in our hearts. My friend knows that, and is the best representative of God's Love I have ever met.

My friend inspires me in so many ways. He tries to help people whenever and wherever possible. He always smiles, and tries to make others laugh. He used to tease me endlessly trying to get me to smile when he thought I was unhappy. I admit I didn't always appreciate this as his sense of humor can be relentless. But I know he was only trying to help me enjoy life. After all, Life is Beautiful. It is so easy for me to forget that, and yet it is always foremost in his mind.

My best friend, in my mind, is the personification of true friendship. He shows God's Love to everyone he meets. He inspires me to be a better, more loving person. I have never met a more caring, genuine, unique person, nor a truer friend.

Posted at 04:33 [/personal/catharsis] (0 comments) permalink

Catharsis

ca·thar·sis

• A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.
• A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
• Psychology.
  • A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
  • The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Some of you that know me in real life know the past few months have been pretty rough. Several traumatic events have happened recently, throwing my life into chaos. My typical response to such events is just to shut down, work through the problems as best I can, and deal with my emotions later. However, I was already ignoring problems as it was; having so much dumped on me at once caused me to completely shut down, to repress it all. Ultimately, this is unhealthy and only works for a short time. In order to move forward you have to deal with all the sadness, the anger, the loneliness, the pain. In a word, catharsis.

Until now, I haven't posted much personal stuff of consequence on this blog. I'm not accustomed to posting at length about truly personal things. In addition, I was actively trying repress everything. I can't do that anymore. I originally chose the name "Transformed Planet" because my life, my world, had become so much different than it was. Now, another transition is upon me. What better place than here to write about it?

Some of the things I post in the coming days will not be pretty or well-written, and sometimes may sound weird. They will be attempts to deal with my emotions and the events that have brought me to this point. Please be patient as I work through this process.

Posted at 04:27 [/personal/catharsis] (0 comments) permalink