Healing comes in many forms. There is the kind of recovery one gets from the hospital, stitches carefully sewn, medicines meticulously prescribed, all to address the body's aches and pains. Prayer to me is a given, as I've already witnessed countless miracles in my lifetime and I'm inclined to say that my faith in the Lord is steadfast and I pray for it to only get stronger as I get older.
And then there is the kind of emotional salve by which to this day I am continually amazed for its cathartic properties. Years ago, I picked up from one of my early editors the idea of writing to a person who has caused you hurt and wounded your being. She had, at the time, penned all her woes to an ex who cheated on her.
What initially baffled me about this process was that it entailed writing an elaborate letter and NOT sending it. Over the years, I would read articles left and right touting this method of dealing with one's anger and resentment towards another.
A few nights ago, I tossed and turned, and like an unwelcome ghost, was haunted once again by feelings of hurt and frustration borne out of an experience in New York involving some people (barely friends) saying scathing things about me. What angered and struck me the most, was the ignorance and malignancy of the rumors, directed to someone who has kept a clean reputation all these years.
I sat up and wrote an email, hoping to finally clear the air out and have one less aggravator to attribute the L.A.N.Y.s to.
I saved the file intending to send it in the morning, and then slept on it. The next day, it wasn't until mid-afternoon that it occurred to me that I hadn't sent the email yet. And I actually no longer felt the need to because I already felt better. It dawned on me, again, the miraculous qualities of writing and "simmering"—essentially letting go and moving on.
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7 comments:
Well, be careful you don't send it.Baka ma-Julia Roberts ka in My Best Friend's Wedding! =D
Yikes! Hassle hahaha. Ok lang I used Wordpad for the draft :D
Oh yes, I've been told about the whole "write a letter, but don't send it" trick, and I agree, I think it can be a healing release, if you let it be. Glad that writing email could help you move on. :)
And thanks for your comment, and I love Europeon magazines, from what I've seen, but oh they're so expensive to get sent to the U.S. :(
xoxo,
S-C
I've done the write-don't-send exercise before, and it was very cathartic. Good to know all is better...
Hi, S-C! Thanks for dropping by :) Ooh! If you're in Manhattan, there is a little hub, a magazine store somewhere in the East Village/ Alphabet City that sells piles of them :) And then there's always the foreign section of Hudson News in the train stations :D
Chinachix, yes I'm always skeptical about the "not sending" part (because why waste precious words, right?) but every time it seems to work, which is amazing :)
Hey Mariel, lovely post. And glad you're alive!
Hi, Maya! Thank you! It means a lot coming from you :)
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