051 The Island of Resentment
ByUnlike fear which is short lived, occurs in the moment, and eventually loses its hold through kind and creative acts, resentment is an emotion armored with talons in full extension. The bitter irony is it takes just as much energy to maintain its grip as it does to let it go. It clings to our self value, clutches itself to our attention, and in the guise of anger or spite towards another it cloaks around our insecurity. The battle spent wrestling with this disruptive, unapologetic and thankless emotion is nothing short of self inflicted pain.
Resentment manifests and expands itself from the inside as it harbors unresolved and unexpressed emotions of betrayal and disrespect from another. Unlike anger, its effects rarely impact the person they are directed towards. Instead, it eats its own host. If left unresolved without introspection, self love and forgiveness it continues along a self debilitating downward spiral. It soon finds us cutting off communication and engorging itself into an obstacle blocking any remnants of mutuality and respect.
As we continue navigating the journey to letting go, focus a lens on the moments, relationships and lost intentions that have anchored itself to this island of resentment. Stop investing precious time which pulls us off course from our greater good and ultimate destination of fulfilled self worth and wholehearted joy.
I just posted about something somewhat similar. Great post. I cant relate. I had some issues of resentment in the past that I struggled to let go of..
Please share your link 🙂 I’m sure we will all appreciate your thoughts and insight!
Sure thing!
http://www.alwaysandie.wordpress.com
I’m currently fighting resentment toward a job. This year brings serious changes and challenges to my writing. I plan to self-publish four novels. The first came out last week. I find I’m resenting the time and effort I have to put toward my day job. I’m not putting 100% of my effort in because of this and its affecting my performance. I’ve always been conscientious about work – show up before shift, stay late when needed. Now it’s an effort to get out of bed and make it there on time and the last 30 minutes, well it is very difficult to not cut out early. As you pointed out, the only one that will truly be affected by my resentment is me. This will be the underlying challenge for me this year. Making sure I don’t let that resentment grow beyond its current state. I have goals and responsibilities that require me to have a full-time job outside of writing. Thanks for the reminder.
Melanie… I feel your novels are where your heart is and deserves celebration and nurturing. When I’m challenged in the same way, I look at the practicalities of life as the means to nurture and support the love I freely give in other areas. It helps me keep things in perspective and off that island of resentment 😉
Thanks Cheryl!
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