THE TRIGGER WARNING #12

Sanctuary:

Writing is one of my sanctuaries, reading is another, and of course, there is meditation. Hard, monotonous work or physical training is a good one, but I think I should talk about reading as sanctuary today …

A couple of days ago a Facebook friend posted a statement, the gist of which was, “I don’t want to see anything about child abuse in my news feed, that shit stays with me; so please stop it … and that goes for animals too.”

I’ve never met this “friend” in person, but I really like her, I value her posts. She’s funny!

And it occurred to  me that her plea may have been in response to The Trigger Warning #9; in which I tell the story of my childhood run-ins with pedophile and convicted serial killer, John Wayne Gacy.

That could just be my ego’s vain hope that at least one person read my little story, but it has me thinking that I should clarify some things around here:

• This blog is about first 750 words that I fart out in the morning. It is essentially a writing exercise that I use to get myself up off my ass and producing in the digital world.
• The title of this blog is “tongue in cheek” – I’m not actually giving anyone a “trigger warning.”

One of my concerns about the direction of society is the rise of what I call LEARNED MENTAL ILLNESS, or what is more commonly referred to as “Political Correctness.” This has not just sprouted up out of the ground like some kind of cultural mushroom; it is the result of an organized political scheme. Born out of The Frankfurt School, Cultural Marxism’s Critical Theory is having the effect of Reverse Cognitive Therapy on a societal level. College kids are learning that words CAN hurt them, and the sticks and stones of the state should be used to protect them from whatever they have been trained to believe is hurtful.

That is not to say that there is not real pain and suffering in this world, or that we don’t carry the effects of trauma in our muscles and bones. We do. And I have some things to say about the best ways to deal with that trauma, or at least – the methods that have worked for me.

That brings me to what I am writing about, – or WHY I am writing …

I’m working on two projects. A science fiction novel  and my memoirs. The reason for writing science fiction are many, – but the two main reasons are that I can get away with describing things that would otherwise be unimaginable, and because I bet I can make some money doing it. But writing down the stories of my life serve a deeper purpose, and making money or even being read by more than two or three people is not one of them …

There has been a lot of abuse and trauma in my life, and by tracing my path  a reader could pick up a lot of valuable information on how to tap into one’s human resiliency, heal, and even thrive. It might not look like it from the outside, but I have accomplished great things, – and at the risk of “tooting my own horn” I will just say that my Buddhist Masters are very proud of me. By writing my memoirs, I remind myself where I am from, and how far I’ve come … And hopefully, some of that will spill over into my science fiction.

I can’t censor myself, or pull any punches when I do this; but at the same time, I don’t want my memoirs to disturb anyone, or cause anyone pain. So maybe I should include some kind of “trigger warning” when I post a story or anecdote that could strike a painful nerve.

I was chatting with a friend the other day, and he reminded me of a story that he  gave the impromptu title of: “I LOVE MY FAMILY”. Nobody gets hurt in that story, and even though it takes some unexpected, funny turns – it leaves you with a sense that crazy bad things happen to innocent  people every day, and there is nothing you can do about it, because you’ll never know about it … until you do know about it, and even then – there is nothing you can do about it.

It’s a hitch-hiking story from my over-the-road truck driving days, and I guess I’m calling it, “I Love My Family” …

That will be in THE TRIGGER WARNING #13 …

… you’ve been warned!