Melting Snow

Accessing Emotions

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Weird noises echo
from outside my apartment:
A happy neighbor.

The "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise"  prompt for DAY 1078
Jacques Derrida in the Ear of the Other, writes: “Prayer works for many people; sometimes therapy works for me, but literature has really been the most reliable way for me to access emotion.”
What is your take on the quote? Do you get emotional with some of what you read or does your reading encourage you to discover different emotions for specific subjects?

What is my take on the quote? It's an interesting and thought provoking quote. I think Mr. Derrida has some excellent points; however, he didn't go far enough. In this quote he only mentions three forms of "therapy" when there are at least five. The other two are meditation and writing, especially poetry and journal writing. Some people can access their emotions and discover what's holding them by by talking to a therapist or spiritual advices. Other people need to pray and meditate to access their emotions and discover what is holding them back from achieving their full potential as human beings. Another group has to write it out before they achieve closure on any emotional issue.

I'm in the group that has to use a combination of these five methods. I need to read the scriptures, pray, meditate and write (not necessarily in that order) to find closure. If I don't do at least one of these things everyday I find myself worrying, procrastinating and reliving painful memories. If I begin doing this then I withdraw into a fantasy world and don't want to come out. This morning I'm doing fairly good because I chanted, said prayers and composed a blog entry. I have a poem I need to finish sometime today, but after I post this I'm going to get back to reviewing.