søndag den 6. september 2015

Post Happiness Melancholy – and the art of letting go

Working on a dream project is always temporary. The “project” might be a relationship, a work project, an opera etc. When it ends, it leaves a gap of empty space in you. The people/person you got really close to as a colleague, friend or lover are now FORMER friends etc.  - Shit, that feels empty.

When that happens its good to ask yourself these questions:
1)      Did you enjoy the moment and the happiness of what you were doing all along?
2)      Did you withdraw inside a little (or a lot) in order to save yourself from the sudden        transition to emptiness that would eventually follow?
3)      Which of the above is the best option?

Perhaps it’s a good thing to know that all good things have an end, because then we appreciate them more… That is, if we don’t get so overwhelmed with panic and fear of losing that we can’t actually enjoy what’s there! 
This is where the fine art of “Letting Go” comes into play. There is by the way a very good handbook on that written by Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Now.

When all comes down, everything is temporary: We all die someday, every person you know is yours “on loan”, even the Earth will not exist in the universe forever – but hopefully we shall not be here to witness the earth crumble!

So what is there to do, other than to make the most of the time we get and the things we experience? I do my very best to live to the maximum every day, embracing and accepting whatever situation I’m in right now, sharing the joy or sadness with those around. During a crisis and great heartache I realized this:

I’d rather have a heart that hurts than a heart that is numb and not feeling anything at all.
This way, at least, I know that I’m alive.

"Maria Magdalena" Art photo by Rolando Diaz

Happiness isn’t the absence of pain. Sometimes joy and pain are strangely entwined, and sometimes this actually makes the feeling of joy much stronger! No human life comes totally without suffering to some degree, emotional or physical. The feeling of pain or sadness from a loss is somehow also good, because it proves that it meant something: Whatever just ended had an impact on you.

So, when the end of a “project” is up, it’s time to embrace the emptiness/sadness/hurt and accept it… THEN go looking for the next work project/ love/ friendship!

I feel, therefore I know that I’m alive. – and that’s pretty awesome, right?


Here's a little music by Verdi with a great deal of pain in it. 
Strange how that can relieve a troubled heart ;-) 


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