Metro Manila Community Quarantine - Day 110
When it comes to nasty specters of the past that keep coming back, you can either try to vanquish them directly or just put those spirits to rest. Both are difficult paths to take because ghosts of this nature don't go away all that quickly, but sooner or later you have to choose a path and stick to it. Beyond that, you hope for the best and you do your best to continue moving forward.
But how do you truly buy the hatchet? It's easy to say that the "other side" is wrong and it's their fault that the haunting continues. But the longer these things drag out, the sillier it can seem to get at times. This is not to invalidate the challenges and complex feelings both sides go through in conflicts of this nature, but sooner or later you'd expect people to just find better things to do. But I guess some people really hold a grudge.
So how do you rise above the vitriol? It seems part of it may be accepting that the other side is never going to change their minds and are just going to continue to try drag you down. Fighting in the trenches with them is not a viable solution for long-term survival since that becomes a neverending slugfest. So instead you take a few more hits, you bide your time, and reflect on an actual path that takes you out of this muck.
But it's hard. There's no question about it. It's ridiculously hard because people are stubborn and it's easier to act on one's emotions more than anything else, and that's where all the complexity stems from. To be fair, these same traits can result in some pretty amazing things when you look back at human history. But you can never really tell - and it feels like disaster is always waiting around the next corner.
But in this crazy year of a global pandemic and the world's longest lockdown, I'd rather focus on more important things. So it's time to take that hatchet and bury it down as deep as possible. And maybe there's a path where doing this helps us move forward regardless of whether or not the other side won't let go of their own hurt and hate.
And maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be a much better day without that emotional weight and drama dragging us down and preventing us from soaring.
Thanks for writing this.
ReplyDeleteSo much easier said than done right? The past still comes back to haunt me with lingering thoughts, and it's a bag of complex feelings when it does.
I wait for that one day where the thoughts and memories no longer weigh me down. I wish you the same for your own battles too. Hopefully that tomorrow comes sooner than later.
We want to be better people and try to be the "bigger man" in conflicts, but most people don't play by those rules, which only ads to the overall frustration.
DeleteBut that's how we differentiate ourselves - we just have to be better even when it's difficult.
Hugs David.