When YOU are down you have to get UP again:
Leaving
The Valley of Dolores
Almost immediately, we tripped into it. Madness, on the outskirts of Hell was nearby… we were out strolling… down memory lane, when we crashed into The Horror The Horror. Sometimes you slip into a place where you are out of grace, out of time, exhausted… almost drowning in the hot volcanic mud of ever burning Hades. You struggle…
23 EASY STEPS OUT OF HELL
1.) Take a deep breath. Exhale. Admit to yourself that you are far from HOME. You are in peril. Take note. Scream, if you must… shout for “Help!” (In hell, of course no one cares; everyone is too busy being tortured themselves that they have zero time or compassion for the “problems,” of others.) Think about it, you are here for a reason. Perhaps you are thinking only of you and your problems. Look around, help someone. That might be the ticket out of hell for YOU!
2.) Center yourself upon the knowing you have strayed and must return to the paradise of writing routines, long walks, and deep meditations in paint and other musical materials. (Yes, if you started to seek yourself in the flashing reflections of computer monitors and television screens; it is now time to unplug and try resting. Rest helps.)
3.) Thank goodness that you know where you are and suddenly experience relief. Yes! Allow that mud caked around your ankles, the cast, the weights, the chains, the shackles, the whatever-holds-you-back to fall away and quickly MOVE to the safety of honesty and truth.
4.) Running, skipping, jumping: somehow getting enough exercise is key in feeling mentally and spiritually balanced. YOU have to dance your way back to health and happiness and you can only do that on a tummy full of healthy (organic) or even better, home-grown, fresh food. Accept no substitutes. You are what you eat and if GMOs are a part of your diet or you eat a lot of animal products (they have to eat whatever is put in their feed, much like… us.) don’t be surprised if you feel like a big fat burger roasting on the coals of El Inferno.
5.) Get a stack of seven life-saving books. The book is your stable friend even in the worst adversity. Seven books add up to a gaggle of buddies to back you up and help you fortify your positions and get on with the JOY that life is meant to be, no matter what the situation, do not stray into the land of illusion where the drama seems to mean more than the spiritual. When choosing books in times of adversity; make sure to pick upbeat topics, arcane interests, and study materials, in the middle of a crisis is a great time to brush up on you Mandarin.
6.) Bathing works wonders. I’ve encountered few problems that a scented, oil bath wasn’t a way to feeling better. Don’t have a tub? Shower with scrub mittens… and perhaps a eucalyptus scented lotion. Even a hot towel on your hands and feet can help you feel more human, just take time to thank goodness that you have hands, a towel… really be grateful.
7.) Masturbate. Endorphins are good for you. Relieve some stress… get it on with number ONE.
8.) Appreciate those around you. You wouldn’t be alive if you hadn’t received your share of kindness along the way. After all, infants are obviously vulnerable… each adult human no matter how damaged or battered is proof of human kindness. Value that truth.
9.) Notice, that others need your help and focus on lifting weights off neighboring shoulders. Be courteous. Politeness, respect, and consideration go a long way toward creating peaceful conditions anywhere. It helps you and others feel better, instantly.
10.) Find a way to really help another, not an empty gesture, but a real action, resulting in another person feeling LOVED, cared for by you. YOU will instantly feel better when you show great tenderness for another. Loving another is an immediate way to loving yourself, again. When you feel good about yourself, your actions, it means you have taken responsibility for your quality of life. (In HELL, your family send you “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” text messages that mean absolutely nothing in the grip of timelessness.)
11.) Writing is a righteous way to cope. Jot down your feelings, make lists, use whatever tools are at hand to help you sort through the complexities of the situation and the implement a plan based on your notes. Just having done this exercise gives you the strength to move forward and enjoy life.
12.) Remember: you have purpose. You are beautiful. You are unique. Frau loves you. This alone should help you dance across the roasting coals and spring to the eternal green of abundance and wonderment at the beauty which is everywhere. (Yesterday, I was on a public bus, facing the Pacific, on one of the most dazzling stretches, I’ve ever seen… around me, workers, peddlers, vagrants, various students of nothing-in-particular ignored the view. It was fascinating to watch these fellow humans be oblivious to their setting, so very uncaring and preoccupied. (IN HELL no one ever has time; you are rushed from one treatment, to the next, there is NO REST in HELL!)
13.) humor is magical. The instant you surrender to a big belly rolling HAH! Hah! is heavenly… Laughing at one’s own mistakes is sacred and cleansing; great good can come from this form of jovial mirth. (In HELL, hyena like derisive laughter echoes down endless, labyrinthian halls… devils thrive in putting others down, whatever you “race,” they know the exact racist comments to make you feel the burning scorn of HADES. Sadists that take pleasure in humiliating others or causing deliberate pain to their victims, are to be put on spits and turned around like hot dogs for eternity when the never ending orgy or malicious intent and distorted responses of dictators and mad doctors… like the Nazi Death Camp atmosphere, the space where all is stagnant and there is no giggling allowed, no room for revelry, a fetid pool of half dead people, all of whom could care less about others, in the cubicles next to yours, like rats in a barrow… feasting on horror.) Honest laughter never revolves around another’s perceived or imagined short comings, it is never malicious. Healthy laughter is never at another’s expense. Humor, that hinges on marveling at life’s madness is good for the battered soul. Try it.
14.) Don’t try to convert the damned. Sometimes, you just have to cut yourself off from the creatures that you seek to protect. People that bring you down, make you feel terrible about life, are like stormy weather and inhibit darkness, bringing their heinous gravitas everywhere they go are to be dismissed in favor of those that cultivate peace, love, humor, and kindness as daily active virtues.
15.) Avoid the armies of brain dead, intellectually ossified, people for whom everything good is invisible, that live for consuming cultural products without creating material to feed future generations of mentally hungry humans. Lack of creativity is HELLISH in my book.
16.) Materialism means that you don’t enjoy good things in life because your focus is on the cost of goods rather than the enjoyment and appreciation of effort and beauty. Being chained to a pearl necklace, which should be given away freely, as a token of LOVE to a caring other… is a way in which prioritizing having over giving, which makes monsters of those that are incapable of giving goodness. Leaving a crummy tip for a zealous server: a highway to a hell of big pots were cheapskates are consumed for all eternity!)
17.) Leap over steaming murky pools of self pity that we are prone to wallow in when we feel we’ve been wrong by focusing on the fact that on the other side of self pity is a glorious oasis of self respect, waiting.
18.) Draw a line, separating yourself from the faults others project onto you. Be NOT the blank screen upon which lacerated howling sinners project their morbid fantasies. Allow no one to assign you the role of Virgil in the tour of some festering cesspool of evil.
19.) Stop trying to please everyone. Make it clear what you will and will not accept. Be willing to die, a billion deaths, rather than be bland, dead, and/or neutral. Take a stand. Defend the light. Be brilliance personified. SHINE!
20.) Be willing to MAKE ENEMIES. You don’t want friends that are selfish devils. Nope. No thanks.
21.) Release, all the half-assed bullshit friends that never actually help or contribute a dime to your operation. Keep friends that care what condition you are in and help you to live a better life. Live in communion and constant exchange of courtesy and affection. Gift giving and exchanging is KEY to the pearly gates.
22.) Notice: when a devil is disguised as a harmless little old lady. Recognize that evil comes in all packages and that ONE must be alert to distinguish the evil in one’s own conduct. We all lie. We all take short cuts. NO ONE, least of all, I is perfect. Yet, to inhibit a life where prosperity, peace, and pleasure are routine one must be discerning and willing to surgically amputate cancerous connections with toxic fork-tongued folk of the underworld.
23.) Realize that you are SUPER LUCKY to be alive and that even IF you are suffering now… you have had the pleasure of breathing, reading, learning, and loving. Nothing, could be better, no paradise more succulent and crowded with monarch butterflies, buzzing bees, and healthy human and animal life.
ENJOY!