Edit: I just noticed the I in Self Pity is too big. I was going to correct it, then realized that is a completely accurate statement. Think about it.
Self pity is our worst enemy. We are all born with empty backpacks on our backs. Self pity is systematically placing stones in it.
The other day I was sitting somewhere feeling the potential for self pity. Whatever it was (superego as editor: chasing women in the wrong place), there I was. I saw the self pity welling up like a wave, the “it’s not fair”, the “this should work”, the whatever made me feel sorry for myself.
I watched it, then let it go. I visualized a drain, in which all those dark waters simply disappeared. Lo and behold, they did, and there I was listening to some songs I put on the jukebox by Sugarland and the Ting-tings (and some more macho bands, but frankly I enjoyed those two the most). It was calming. It was nice.
If we could all live like that, the world would be a much better place. Let it go. Let the resentment go. Let the self importance go. Let the anger go. What good does it do you, much less anyone else? It is a damn anchor, sinking you down into the black water. If you want to float, you need a boat, and boats don’t need heavy weights.
And if you are under water, step one is to look up, n’est pas? Oxygen will be along soon enough, if you swim where the light is.