Posted by Jackie M. on February 04, 1999 at 13:17:51:
In Reply to: The Identity of Anonymous Is Revealed posted by Phil Cornwell on February 04, 1999 at 10:41:09:
Dear Phil,
So nice to know your name! As per your request, there will be no playing of violins here, but how about a hug instead? {{{{Phil}}}}
What a great post. I think that we should all feel free to speak unrestricted and honestly here. We need a bastion of understanding to call our "other home." I was unaware of the nasty advice dealt you at the hands of Mr. Andrea, and am sorry you had to suffer that here. We should be helping each other against things like that, not perpetrating one of the very things that we are seeking refuge from here. A few years ago, a woman in my creative writing class had written something that struck me profoundly, and I think that it may apply to the occasional problem we face here, with other cluster sufferers who still find compassion difficult. She wrote that some people see the world and those around them through a lens of limited aperture. That may apply to Mr. Andrea; who might suffer a much more tolerable strain of clusters. He may be judging you by his own experience (or len of limited aperture) without acknowledging that we are all unique and do not carry the same baggage. That is why, while it is wonderful to share here, I feel we must be very careful not to judge. We've all heard the saying, "there but for the grace of God, go I," and that is a thought worth remembering. Because I do not suffer with clusters each and everyday, doesn't make the fact that others do false, or eliminate the possiblity that I could become one of *them.* We can't discount the feelings and circumstances of others simply because we've not found it in our own lives. To do so would be looking through that lens of limited aperture. The one thing we do have in common is the word cluster as it pertains to our pain. But that's where the medium ends. From there we suffer various degrees, durations and manifestations of the pain. We all live in different situations and environments, so how can we possibly pass judgment on each other? I believe that for the most part, compassion takes precedence here.
And if you'll endulge one last humble opinion... as far as the negative thinking goes, to recognize the flaws within us is a pretty POSITIVE accomplishment. Hang in there Phil.
Wishing you pain free days in abundance.
Jackie M. (yes, the one who admitted the "garden hose" plot.)