Relational pain, protection, and emptiness

When I feel pained by the some particular relationship, I have thought of simply deciding to adjust my feelings so that nothing that particular person does could ever hurt me again. However, it is the allowance of emotional unprotectedness which makes the good stuff in the relationship so powerful.

Butterfly

climb into my mouth...

Hope

It is hope which both allows us to continue... and destroys us...

tragedy

Sometimes, I feel like life is nothing more than a tragedy which continues until the actors are all dead, like Hamlet. The only thing which we really have are the small moments of feeling connection with those whom we love. We have also those moments of complete transparency, like when Hamlet proclaims his love for Ophelia. And those moments when you really feel like you understand the state of things, though in the smallest way. When the flavor of the wine fills your head, or you take a bite from a steak which is gushing juices from the incision, or hear a song which epitomizes your feeling, or a fascinatingly ugly insect.

Alright, I'm changing. My beginning and ending of the previous paragram argue for different perspectives. I need change...

Retaliation

When you retaliate, you are giving up self - you are only responding to your environment, and not acting independently.

Self and Creation

Is there any self when you are only reacting? Is not the epitome of self to create?

Argument

If you are equals, the ask questions until you can state their position clearly, in language which they can agree to. Only then will you understand enough to make a claim about their position.