Never Give Up and Define Who You Are

(Photo by M. Bencivengo, "Roots Drifted In,"

Beachwood Cove Beach, Huron OH)

I wrote this today in direct response to a friend's post (and added about a paragraph or two at the end):

Definitely, don't ever give up. I know it's a strong word but I detest petty jealous people who want to see others fail. I used to want to be a depth psychologist in practice but I decided against it because I have strong emotions and as a creative writer am strongly expressive. It gets tiresome to me to try to continually be tactful or seeming an enlightened peaceful type. I now leave that to more passive and harmonious people. I really don't want to be or seem perfect. I don't want to hold back the way I am. I enjoy being expressively outspoken, especially because I know that I am innately essentially harmless. I like social satire. In other words, I am not the Buddhist type of being able to let go. I remain often bitter, meaning bitter-sweet, but in a humorous way, seeing the terribleness but humor in all things as well as seeing happiness and joy. No, I do not forget the happiness and joy in life either. But what would our literary heritage on earth be without Dante's "Heaven and Hell" and Tolstoy's "War and Peace?" I am just being honest, real, about my feelings and tendencies. I do not wish to counsel others (I mean other than as friend to friend listening to one another) but just only myself and even then I cannot always do so or be always very effective at it. None of us alone knows everything, but together, maybe we do.

I do like to sugar-coat though sometimes depending on the mood and in writing some types of fiction. But mostly I write social satire combined with supernatural horror when writing adult or young adult fiction. But also other things.

I just recently took a stand in my own head (mind--no I did not stand on my head!) to define and declare who I am and what I am made of and which is not my true vocation. I love mythopoetics in depth psych, much the same as literary analysis and explication, but with more mythology involved and less literary terminology attached--butu I sense that changing: Perhaps soon, more literary terminology like I used in papers in the distant past. Mythopoetics are not necessarily literary analysis or vice-versa. But mythopoetics are my main interests in depth psychology, inclusive in my belovedly charmed dream studies, synchronicity studies, and eco- psychological studies--all of which by me are seen mostly through a lens of mythopoetics anyways.

And I always give most people the benefit of the doubt even though some people out there have tried to destroy me or my spirit or my soul or my job or my happiness. I only keep those people in my life anymore who are mutually nice and well-meaning, if I can help it. Due to certain associations, that is not always completely possible, but I try, through avoidance.

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