My good writer friend |
"If you embrace the negative," he told me, "you take away its power. It becomes a positive force in your life."
I've never really considered bad news becoming a force for good. It seems totally foreign to my way of dealing with the storms of life. I've always been more of a wallower. If I'm in the Pit of Despair, I just thrash around until I get myself good and stuck. I don't embrace the negative like my writer friend does. I panic. I complain. Bitch. Whine. Moan. You name it, I do it.
I'm not sure how to embrace the news about losing the Phil Levine Poetry Contest. I can make a joke about it. How many judges of the Phil Levine Poetry Contest does it take to screw in a light bulb? Just one, because the judge has so much practice at screwing poets. That makes me feel a little bit better, but I still feel like a loser. However, I can laugh about being a loser. I guess that's a step in the right direction.
My writer friend gave me food for thought this morning. I'm still thrashing and sinking in the Pit of Phil Levine Despair. I'm not a complete convert yet.
Saint Marty needs a little more practice at being a positive loser.
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