Monday, October 6, 2008

Resolve and Healing by Maynard James Keenan

Shit happens to some of us. Traumatizing events occur and then we spend the rest of our lives, either consciously or unconsciously, trying to work it out.

Some of us become the aggressors, inflicting the same trauma on others. Some of us medicate. Some of us become creative and use different mediums to express our pain and healing process.

It's a long process. And it of course gets worse before it gets better. If you happen to be one of the fortunate few who can express your self in a way with which people empathize, it can get even more difficult. The unhealthy behavior, which can surface during the healing process, is often times applauded. They applaud because you've touched on an experience with which they can relate. They applaud, you feel better, but only for a while. No ground is gained if we as artists only do it to be desired, praised, or accepted.

The trick, for those who have chosen this expressive path, is to remember why you're here. The trick is to remember that you're here to heal and find resolution. That way if you stray off the path, or are seduced by the unhealthy accolades, you will be able to find your way back to the path. There are only so many metaphors for "feel my pain," "woe is me," and "pity this broken man."

Eventually we need to move beyond the trauma, otherwise we're just a broken record and we offer no hope to anyone.
If these stories aren't healing us, the teller of the tales, then how the hell are they going to help in the healing process of anyone else? Where is the hope if we are required to remain stationary, to continue picking scabs rather than move on to healthier places?
So, Remember. The goal for us is resolve and healing.

The hope is that with each stage along the way, new understandings emerge. It would seem then that with each new threshold achieved, prior darker states of being become less and less relevant. And we in theory continue to move towards a lighter state of being.

- Maynard James Keenan (Puscifer, Tool, APC)

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