Of course it can!
Anyone who reads knows how easily a good story can get under your
skin and permeate your every waking thought. These are often the same
stories that plague your dreams, everywhere you turn it seems
something reminds you of a character, place or even line of dialogue.
It is the mark of a great story when you steal the characters as your
very own imaginary friends. I can only hope readers will fall in love
with my characters the way I do with those created by my favourite
authors.
Sometimes however a story is so remarkable it transcends from great
fiction into something more. As you read it something inside you
shifts and you know you will never be the same as you were before you
cracked open (figuratively for those of us with e-readers) the cover.
This internal metamorphosis is a rarity, many great pieces of
literature are entertaining and deserve to be praised, but not every
masterpiece is leaving us with soul shattering realisations about
ourselves or life in general.
Today’s blog comes to you courtesy of one of these truly
extraordinary and rare moments when a story becomes the catalyst for
a long overdue emotional epiphany. If you would like to know which
story try my other blog On the Couch with a pot of tea and a good book.
So what is this epiphany?
If you're not happy, you can't be healthy!
Actually there are lots of competing thoughts
and realisations coming from this one book but all of them be boiled
down to the very concise line above.
I view myself (and am told by many other
people) as a positive person who will try and find at least one good
thing about any situation. Until today I thought that meant I was
happy. Positive and happy are just not the same thing however,
related yes, but definitely not the same. Lets look at an example of
the difference from my life:
I moved to Mt Isa for my day job, always one to
look at the positives I focused on the extra money, opportunity to
further my career and excitement of discovering a new part of
Australia. All of my friends are back in Cairns or Brisbane but
that’s ok because I'll have time to write when I can't just
casually hang out with them at the drop of the hat.
I can say all of that and I can mean it, until
I look too deep. Upon
inspection (and not that close of an inspection), it isn't that much
extra money and it sure is expensive in Mt Isa, while I love my day
job my genuine passion is for my writing and lastly, I am a social
creature and I need
my friends.
These are just a few of the positive pep talks
and rebuttals I have given myself while here in the Isa. It isn't
that I hate it here, the town has a certain charm (though I am
decidedly not
a fan of the dessert), it just doesn't have all of the things I have
always taken for granted.
I have been sick and stressed a lot since
coming to Mt Isa and at times staying positive is even a struggle,
but I fight onwards. I keep the bitter
pill inside and put the fake smile in place for everyone to
see. I'm not letting myself be angry by my choice to come here, I’m
not letting myself expunge the ill ease and negative feelings, I'm
holding on to baggage I don't need. As a result I'm not happy,
fooling everybody (including myself) with my positivity, but it is
just a damn good act.
I'm not happy, I'm not healthy, some days I
fear I’m not really even living, just running through the motions
on auto pilot.
That changes today though. It changes because
of one novella I read and one concept it contained that resonated
deeply within
me. Lance
your soul of sorrow and make way for joy. Tears are healing, so cry
your tears of pain and suffering and when there is no more hurt left
inside let your tears become ones of joy.
I am not going to ignore my darker emotions, I
am going to let them out and I am going to do this without burdening
anyone else with my malaise. I'm a writer, a pen and paper, a
computer, a voice recorder, these are the tools
I can use to lance my soul and make room for happiness to find a
home.
I will be happy, I will be healthy and I will
continue finding inspiration in the books I read and stories I tell.
Now I want to ask you, what story has changed
the way you view the world?
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