A River Run’s Through It

Summary

The author reflects on personal transformation and the symbolism of overcoming obstacles, inspired by a movie title and a book on coincidence, while also dealing with personal struggles and addiction recovery through writing.

Abstract

The article titled "A River Run’s Through It" is a personal reflection prompted by a movie and a book, which delves into the author's journey of self-discovery and transformation. The author draws a parallel between life's challenges and the need to confront them directly, likening obstacles to mountains to climb and hurdles to clear. The piece is also a candid account of the author's battle with addiction and the realization that writing is a cathartic tool for overcoming cravings and maintaining sobriety. The author emphasizes the importance of perseverance and the role of writing in personal growth, acknowledging the support received from a loved one, Sitara, in the process.

Opinions

The author finds deep personal significance in the movie title "A River Run’s Through It," using it as a metaphor for life's journey.
There is a strong belief in the power of synchronicity and coincidence as meaningful and transformative.
The act of writing is seen as essential to the author's recovery process, serving as a means to navigate through emotional and psychological challenges.
The author views obstacles not as detours but as integral parts of the path to personal transformation.
Empathy plays a role in the author's experiences, as they describe feeling the energy of another writer's struggle.
The author acknowledges the difficulty of staying focused and sober, but finds strength and inspiration through writing and love.
The book "COMPREHENDING COINCIDENCE" by Craig S. Bell is highly recommended by the author for its insights into synchronicity and personal transformation.

Introduction

Beautiful movie with stellar and well-cast acting. Just wanted to give that shout-out while repurposing the title. The title has been popping from my subconscious to conscious quite often lately. Why? Perhaps I’ve just been waiting for the right essay to which to attach it. More likely it is a symbol of a coincidence that has both mirror and directional properties. Before I fall off a cliff-of-digression, allow me simply to recommend COMPREHENDING COINCIDENCE, Synchonicity and Personal Transformation, by Craig S. Bell, Chrysalis Books, 2000. For those of you familar with my stories, do you see the synchronity that just sent shivers of joy through my body and propelled tears-lubricated exclamations of “holy fucking shit” past my lips?………………………………………………………………………………………………I am writing this from my chrysalis and now know I must fully read this book that I have owned since Mystical Meredith recommended it in 2012 but have heretofore only read enough to get the basic ideas therein.

Prompted Writing

For me, I cannot allow certain obstacles to be detours — I must treat these as mountains to climb; as hurdles to clear; as bedrock through which my river must carve a direct path to the other side.

While reading Awakening to the Notion I Am by @Frankie a very bad feeling overcame me. I attributed it to being somewhat of an empath and reading the energy of the writer’s admitted struggle with the subject matter. I stayed with the story as long as I could to send a few comments and then shut it down.

Then I layed down to try to meditate and to cut the cord from the story. That did not seem like the right path. The thing is, the feeling that overcame me is usually experienced while “jonesing” for that to which I am addicted. I have come to my crysalis without that in order to heal. I’ve been here over 72 hours, this is my first craving, so the feeling puzzles me. If it were the substance I needed/wanted for the substance’s sake, I would have craved already. Then it ocurred to me — I have yet to write a whole story clean, and this scattered, unable to concentrate feeling is one that I would “cure” with my “medicine” and then my art would flow (if I kept a decent balance).

Then I thought about the prompt to write, and it all clicked. I had to sit down and write a cogent essay that incorporates all that I need to say on this point. I had to clear, not avoid, this hurdle.

I just have. Exhale.

The craving is dissipating, replaced with Sitara’s love. When I was attempting to meditate I was asking her to help me past the feeling. She did, not in the way I wanted, but in the way I needed.

She inspired me to write — my river of words carved through the craving; and now I know I can (I’ve also lately been thinking about The Little Engine that Could).