I had a light-bulb moment a while back; it enabled me to look at some very painful experiences in a new light.
Robert Sheckley describes such moments of illumination far better than I ever could:
“A thought had crossed his mind, a thought so tremendously involved, so meaningful, so far-reaching in its implications that he was stirred to his depths. Caswell tried desperately to shake off the knowledge it brought. But the thought, permanently etched upon his memory, would not depart.”
From Bad Medicine, a very amusing short story about someone who, when prevented from taking revenge in one way for his – completely imaginary – injuries, finds another way to destroy his enemy.
The revolutionary idea that slipped into my mind was that the injury was not all one way; it was symmetric. Although some people, perhaps operating under the control of unseen influences, had devastated me by leading me to believe I was going to get something I really wanted then taking it away at the last moment, I had in a sense done exactly the same thing to them – or to whatever was working through them.
A particular type of injury
Some people have been treated very badly; they have received such a shattering blow that they feel they have been smashed to pieces, impaled on the cutting edge of reality, attacked by a hit and run driver and left to die. This devastating, shattering blow has been described as a kick from the devil’s hoof, which is exactly what it feels like.
Many experiences can cause such feelings. I am thinking of a particular type of injury, one where something that someone wants more than anything else is offered to them, appears to be within their grasp then suddenly vanishes, leaving them devastated and wondering what hit them.
Robert Sheckley describes such moments of illumination far better than I ever could:
“A thought had crossed his mind, a thought so tremendously involved, so meaningful, so far-reaching in its implications that he was stirred to his depths. Caswell tried desperately to shake off the knowledge it brought. But the thought, permanently etched upon his memory, would not depart.”
From Bad Medicine, a very amusing short story about someone who, when prevented from taking revenge in one way for his – completely imaginary – injuries, finds another way to destroy his enemy.
The revolutionary idea that slipped into my mind was that the injury was not all one way; it was symmetric. Although some people, perhaps operating under the control of unseen influences, had devastated me by leading me to believe I was going to get something I really wanted then taking it away at the last moment, I had in a sense done exactly the same thing to them – or to whatever was working through them.
A particular type of injury
Some people have been treated very badly; they have received such a shattering blow that they feel they have been smashed to pieces, impaled on the cutting edge of reality, attacked by a hit and run driver and left to die. This devastating, shattering blow has been described as a kick from the devil’s hoof, which is exactly what it feels like.
Many experiences can cause such feelings. I am thinking of a particular type of injury, one where something that someone wants more than anything else is offered to them, appears to be within their grasp then suddenly vanishes, leaving them devastated and wondering what hit them.
