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Friday, September 03, 2010

Truce with Tragedy

                                   
Certain anecdotes often influence us to  rethink our approach towards life. I believe, each action of ours results from a collection of  such experiences. Today, I wish to talk about  my experiences with the notion called 'Tragedy'. Before I proceed, I wish to impress upon the reader that I thoroughly understand and respect the belief that each of us have had our share of joys and sorrows, and there is no common scale for comparison. This post will be my honest attempt to record my experiences and my actions thereof. 

Everyone's life is similar to waves on the ocean floor, with  characteristic highs and lows, and my life is no different. I have had my share of highs and lows, today I wish to talk about my struggle during one such low-phases in my life. When I was first introduced to the situation, my view of issues had various elements to it : distortions, fixations and compulsions amongst others. I lost my hope on the future for some precious moments in life, which I cherish till date. I have noticed that our ability to think objectively will take an hit when we are going through a tragic phase. Every thought, has a previous condition to work with and build on with little possibility for  freshness in our approach. 

It is important that we clearly understand that there exists a distortion in our perception, and come over it. Our actions are influenced by the values we are attracted to and prize. Each of us, enjoy certain aptitude and ability to work with, and devise a possible remedial action to the best of our knowledge.While all of these endowments and values are present as potentialities in our core self and while we are capable of appreciating and actualizing all of them, temperamentally we favor some over others and our responses stack into a hierarchy, with one or a few being more potent than others.During such a phase, there is a possibility we feel  sorry for ourselves.It is important for us to realize pity is not what lessons of tragedy or actions bring to people, but it is a mistake that comes with such lessons. We should be able to identify it and look beyond the notion of self-pity.

It is always important to appreciate yourself and realize nothing is worth more than your free will. In short, as Friedrich Nietzsche puts it in his work The Birth of Tragedy : No price is  too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. I understood, nothing else weighs heavily on us, compared to confusion and loss of consciousness for our depressed soul . I negotiated a truce with tragedy...I own myself now and I am proud of it.