Perspective is only so negotiable | Artful Balance

A part of being self-aware is realizing that my perspectives are only so negotiable. At a point, I have to accept myself biases, quirks, emotional reflexes, and all, and begin spending time on living my life rather than figuring myself out.

This also goes for accepting other people. At a point, I need to start enjoying them for who they for that moment rather than wanting to change (what I see to be) their mistaken perspectives.

Life and experiences can be painful. Pain inflicted by the source of a legitimate need (a parent, a love interest, a lover) can understandably lead to embitterment. Embitterment affects our perspectives.

Embitterment plays a protective function but is not fully adaptive because it limits our ability to accept the fact that any need-source will inevitably be imperfect: your private life, your social life, your church, workplace, spouse, or family.

Embitterment is a form of decadence because it entertains past hurts and failures at the expense of growth.

To escape decadence we must keep healing, which entails pain, like breaking and resetting a bone that had calcified into an incorrect form before.

I don't like seeing my friend harmed by an dark perspective that stands for years in the way of him and a self-professed desire. But I can neither preach at nor change him.

When self-acceptance is high, it's prime time to put an ear out for ways to improve my behavior, perspectives, habits, and attitudes.

But my self-acceptance isn't always high, so it's not always time to use a critiquing voice.

Experience trains us. But experience isn't always reality.

---

Artful Balance © 2019

These are my personal writings curated from material produced during my structured daily writing times as well as spontaneous thoughts I manage to record. Through organizing and uploading them i hope to learn about who I am as a voice and writer and find ways to improve my writing skills. Though I feel drawn to more cerebral topics, I would like my writing to be an engaging emotional journey none the less.

Someday I hope I figure out a way to assemble my short works into something more coherent and with a more obvious purpose. But right now, these tidbits are the best I can do.