LogFAQs > #982147050

Alright, let me share with you my understanding of Madam Mellody's work. After observing so many humans over such a long period of time and reading as much as I could, some trends inevitably come up. One thing we all have in common, is the need to feel like we have value, power, and abundance in our lives. Now, like many things, there are functional and dysfunctional ways to go about these. Say you are dysfunctional. Your sense of value may come from the approval of others, making you dependent on seeking attention, begging for others to tell you that who you are is adequate. You will feel good when you receive positive feedback, but always be one negative comment away from having your day ruined. Now, about power. Dysfunctional people get a sense of power by exercising control over others, sometimes right down to policing the way they talk, or who they engage with. They feel good when they have a weak partner or friend to control, but feel depressed and weak themselves when no one is around to feed their ego. Their sense of abundance will often come from material things, displaying of high status, or promiscuity. Even though it feels great while the money and the crowd are there, these lack real depth, and the impact of the inevitable downfall would be hard to overstate. For functional people, it is scarcely documented as they are generally busy living a meaningful life. Functional people get their sense of value from an understanding and acknowledgement of their inner worth. Their sense of power comes from an ability to self-contain and let others be who they are, while protecting themselves when needed. And abundance simply comes from good self-care. Now, all of this makes sense in theory, but the idea is to be able to apply it. For this, you first need to master your emotions. As I understand it, everything you experience is a mix of the big five. Fear, joy, sadness, anger and shame. The primary colors of our experiences, if you will. Mix fear with anger, and you get jealousy. Too much sadness in your joy will make you melancholic. The only way to unpack complex emotions is by breaking them down into which of the big five are concerned, and to deal with each of these individually. Easier said than done, right? Consider haunted house stories for a moment. They're always the same aren't they? It starts off with optimistic fools moving in. Soon enough, odd things begin to happen, and fear ensues for a while. Eventually, the protagonist has had enough, and decides to face the ghost. "What? What do you want?", they will ask, tired of cowering in fear. As it turns out, ghosts usually know what they want, and it's usually the same thing: for the person who wronged them to face justice, and to then be put to rest. That's usually where the killer faces a trial and the ghost's body is respectfully buried. And just like that, the house becomes a warm haven again. Did you get the metaphors? If you often feel depressed, irritated, or however hindered in your general ability to engage with life, you are just like a haunted house. Your inner child is hurt, and will be increasingly uncomfortable to you, until you turn around and ask "What? What do you want?" If asked honestly, you will find that the answers were within you all along, and that following through with that inner child's requests is both challenging and life changing. Only then can you begin the process of discovering your true self, to finally get rid of your chains. These were my final ramblings, please keep in mind that I am but a shopkeeper. Everything I say should be taken with the biggest grain of salt you can find. Please open the cabinet now.