Bits of Wisdom Podcast #56

“Nobody can save you but yourself and you’re worth saving. It’s a war not easily won but if anything is worth winning then this is it.” Charles BukowskiMillions of people are drowning today, millions died yesterday and last week, and hundreds of millions in past years. Why? Because they were at war with themselves and didn't know how to overcome the battle within. Bad luck, fate, karma, or something else has a way of barreling down on us at times. I recently met a man who suffered from a tree falling on his head. He was placed in a medically induced coma and underwent multiple surgeries to repair the damage; this took place over many months as he healed. I later found out it happened when he was bull-dozing trees. Was this man struck with misfortune or mistake? Who will ever know? The misfortune we feel we’ve suffered is often no more than a series of bad decisions: to take another drink, or risk, or massage our pride or self-righteousness. These poor choices build up and eventually life reacts, and the choices avalanche upon us. If we maintain a victim mentality, we will have a tendency to look at life as unfair or even chalk consequences up as bad luck, but the thinking person will see that life is an accumulation of choices that either pay off or bankrupt us. Of course, there is a middle ground, but this message is for the person suffering for seemingly no reason, unaware they are drowning themselves. There is a common maxim in acting that states, “Never play the victim. It’s the weakest choice.” The same is true for reality. Victims seem to have tragedy in their blood. The man who left us the opening quote knows about drowning. He was an alcoholic, an abuser, and an all-around bad human until he realized at some point that:“Nobody can save you but yourself and you’re worth saving. It’s a war not easily won but if anything is worth winning then this is it.”Terry Weaver is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit terryweaver.substack.com/subscribe