I had the misfortune of being stuck in the same space as an individual who has spent no small amount of life embittered, angry, and frustrated. Complicating the situation was that person’s thick concoction of paranoia mixed with thick webs of conspiracy theories and other untruths and a lack of self-awareness and responsibility.
Actually, I was dragged kicking and screaming into this madness.
This wasn’t my circus or my monkeys.
By the time I had gotten out, I felt like I had fought a bad fight and lost, with battle scars to show.
I needed a break,
time to think,
and a chance to gain better perspective.
When I departed, I intentionally sought out beauty.
And, after grabbing some grub, a forty-five minute drive to my destination helped.
The person who has been stuck in a time-warp, obsessing over what never was, is where I never want to be.
And, regardless of how difficult and challenging things can be, with all their challenges and uncertainties, my life is good.
Lily Chang © 2018
Once I got to where I was going, I saw more bold and beautiful flowers,
Lily Chang © 2018
brilliant butterflies doing their thing,
Lily Chang © 2018
even one that chose me as a companion for a bit,
and was reminded of something significant.
I have undergone a metamorphosis,
a change,
that is life-altering.
Love,
in spite of suffering, betrayal, and disappointment,
exists
in a real and tangible way.
Did you read my quote in my last post, “Unfailing, Unending Love,” about it?
If you haven’t, I’d encourage you to take a look and think about it.
I’m so excited sharing about love and how it is still very much alive and well.
And, I felt better.
I readjusted my perspective, after sitting through a rickety, unpleasant experience that has done more damage in the long-run than tip, turn, and flip a boat on one bright, promising morning.
Things could be so much worse than merely figuring out life’s challenges or dealing with obstinate, delusional people. I could be stuck living that life and drowning in it.
So, my life is good.
And that, has left me feeling more peaceful.
Peace-ing perspective.
WAM - Writing and Art in the Making 
In the now worldwide Recovery Movement, in which I am privileged to have an exceedingly small role, there’s an important practical self-test: “If I am disturbed by any person, place or thing, whatever else is true about the situation, something is wrong with me.” And that is the thing I can do something about. That is the only thing over which I can exert any control. So the key to my well-being, my mental and emotional health, my peace, indeed, my happiness, is the degree to which I’m aware that those things depend almost entirely on my willingness to do something about my disturbance. But if I do, I can have a pretty good life, even in not so good circumstances. And that sure beats letting others control how my life goes, especially when those “others” aren’t particularly interested in my happiness.
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