How I Deal With Big Problems
by Silver RavenWolf
A friend of mine, G. T. Long, recently posted this on my Facebook wall:
THE THREE GOALS: The first goal is to see the thing itself in and for itself, to see it simply and clearly for what it is. No symbolism, please. The second goal is to see each individual thing as unified, as one, with all the other ten thousand things. In this regard, a little wine helps a lot. The third goal is to grasp the first and second goals, to see the universal and the particular, simultaneously. regarding this one, call me when you get it.
I smiled. This week has been a plethora of activity due to the family dementia patient. Even though I’m used to the routine by now, that doesn’t always mean I’m on top of my mental game. The energy of this type of person (dementia, Alzheimer’s) within the confines of the household does affect the group mind (of the family). Its nice when friends realize your brain isn’t functioning the best, and let you know by giving you gifts of knowledge to think about. Like G.T.’s post. Sometimes, we so separate things in order to deal with them that we forget that even though this seems to be a singular problem — everything is somehow tied to everything else. Yes, we can delineate the problem in an effort to solve it; yet — in essence, that difficulty is either affected by something else or affects issues that don’t seem to have an apparent connection. Its like a puzzle where you put that key piece in wrong. It fits, but it doesn’t. You have to take that piece out, and look at it from a different point of view. You may realize that it isn’t the right piece at all (or the real problem) and that something else fits there better.
So, separate to remove the emotional drama, THEN combine to reach the desired conclusion.
I think, really, separation is the hard part. There can be so much emotional garbage to it, you know? In Alchemy, we learn to “separate the gross from the fine” — which is what G.T. is saying. Haul the crap out to the curb, and then look at the situation with fresh eyes. So, how do we do that separation part and still get some sleep at night because the monkey-mind is picking the fleas, one, by one, by one, out of the problem?
Sometimes, for me, the best way to dispose of the stinky mind stuff is to turn my thoughts in a totally different direction. I’ll either immerse myself in a craft project (I created another doll), or try an activity I’ve never done before (I so want to go zip lining one of these days) or do something as totally mindless as a video game (Zuma and Mario Cart Racing are my favorites). Regardless, if I can move away from brain-squeezing the problem, then later, I seem to be able to deal with it on a different footing. I can take the pain-power out of the problem, and move forward.
What if you have trouble seeing the “real” problem? I like to cast the runes on the dining room table while drinking a cup of tea. I ask what the root energy is, and then I ask what root energy will be lead me in the right direction.
Then, I’m ready to do the magick!
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How about you?