Some People

It's been a frustrating week to say the least. More than frustrating actually. The emotions I've been battling are anger, frustration, shame, humiliation, etc. Every day has been an emotional war, the prize being peace of mind. Some moments I've failed and some I've prevailed. Each moment is a battle and it's exhausting.

Who is winning? It's still too soon to say. Some times I've conquered, other times failed miserably. I've closed the door to strife in my life and I'm working on turning away from any additional strife tossed in my general direction. Doing this engages a whole new set of muscles I am not used to working. It is my hope that eventually this will become easier. As of right now? Not so easy because I've got a big mouth and an even bigger arsenal of opinions. Knowing when to exercise what is proving difficult.

Maybe one day I will go into detail of what I'm letting "rent my mind" (as my Aunt Pam and Mela's namesake, would say). Today is not that day.

Today is actually the day that I am going to share with you something that has made me feel better. It's an odd way of coping but when negative thoughts overwhelm me and mentally talking myself back isn't working I've actually taken to Google. Weird right? It's either an ingenious solution or just shows how desperate I am to get any sort of positive leverage on the beast.

How exactly am I using Google to help me? I simply google whatever is ailing me. For example the other night anger was the prevailing emotion. After the mantra of "it's not worth it... rise above... you are better than this... this doesn't even register on the radar of the bigger picture..." failed I started Googling quotes on anger. Reading things that great minds and world contributers had to say quickly brought me back to zen. Very soon after my anger transformed into laughter and the sheer absurdity of it all. I can proudly say that now when I think back onto that particular piece of the convoluted puzzle, I've got laughter bubbling instead of blood boiling.

Below please find some of the quotes that I found comforting.

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of peace of mind.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson 


“Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.” -Dr. Laurence J. Peter 


“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” -Buddha 


“Anyone who angers you conquers you”


“There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot.” -Plato


“It is wise to direct your anger towards problems -- not people; to focus your energies on answers -- not excuses.” -William Arthur Wade


“He is a fool who cannot be angry; but he is a wise man who will not”


“Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.” -James Thurber


“The truth shall make you free, but first it shall make you angry”


“Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it” -Seneca


“The best answer to anger is silence.”


Feeling the zen set in yet? Something about seeing the bigger picture through the minds of great people in our history puts me at peace. Surely they've been through as much if not more and at the end of the day what does their advice remain to be? Anger is not a productive emotion to cling to.

 Even if it was (and believe me, it was) my right to be angry at the situation, that emotion didn't lead me anywhere. Dwelling on my "rightful" emotion took me down further into the depths of myself instead of rising above. At the end of this chapter in my life I want to be better for having walked through it, not bitter. We go through trials in life to learn from them. We make mistakes so we know what not to do next time.

Today I found myself starting to flirt with the big "A" again. Instead of Googling quotes, I ended up searching one of the phrases going through my mind. "Some people" as in  "Some. People. Hmmphh!!" Not really so much "people" but "person" but I digress...

Anywho. I searched "some people" and stumbled across this neat website for a social art project. The website is somepeoplepoeple.com .  Here is the introductory blurb on their site which pretty much explains everything:

"Some people get to be well known and other people live their lives in obscurity. For this project you get to choose and present someone that you think other people should know about by making a documentary about them. Your documentary can take any form that can be presented on the web — video, sound, images, text or any combination of those things. The hope is that this will eventually become an archive of interesting people that previously were not well known, from all over the world."

How neat! Projects like these make me so happy and excited to be a part of the human race. Stumbling upon this site completely replaced my negative emotions with positive ones. Who in my life deserves a spotlight? How can I communicate effectively to everyone else what this person contributes to life on a daily basis?

How about you? Who do you know in your life that might fit the bill for this project?