Turning the Venom into Medicine - The Potential Hero within Us

This post is part of Alex Cavanaugh's IWSG, a group created to express not just our insecurities but also words of encouragement to one another. 

It is also part of Heroes and Villains Blogfest hosted by Dani at Entertainming Interests and Jacky at Bouquet of Books.
Post your favorite Heroes and your favorite Villains. List as many or as little as you like. Be creative with it and above all, have fun.

And part of Celebrate the small things, the brilliant idea of VikLit. Each Friday we post something we wish to celebrate achieving or doing during the week. It can be writing/reading or life related. You can find the list and join us here.






Hosts, please forgive me for doing three in one. Unusual circumstances makes this my last post of the week and I didn't want to miss my other two commitments. You'll see my subject is related anyway.

(Specially dedicated to my Dragon's Eleven-more-like-Thirty-something.)

All vaccine has in itself a small amount of the poison it is meant to counter. When one of my Teachers of Life said I should turn the poison into medicine, he meant I should look at my flaws, not with the idea of getting rid of them but with the ultimate goal to make better use of them. In other words, an individual with a strong temper (such as mine) could use this temper to confront his challenges and succeed. Opposed to getting angry because things were not like I wanted them, use this fury as the propeller to change all those things I didn't like and make them better. It sounded well and it worked better.

Behavioral patterns are difficult to break but my greatest challenge has been the speed of thought. Everything that happens around me triggers a thought (good or bad) and an immediate emotion. Action comes as a result. The first thought is instantaneous and it's the result of years of brain programming. For example, someone says a creation of mine can be improved. First thought = "It's shit." Emotion=Anger. Impulse=Dump it and start anew. Or after doing a health progress, I suffer a relapse. First thought=I'm never gonna make it. Emotion=Anger. Impulse=Smash myself against the wall I can't pass. The lapse between the first thought and the emotion is less than a second, so I am already angry by the time I'm struggling against acting upon my first impulse.

I became a Doctor of Laughter because I was in need of that doctor. I am always writing about positiveness because I need to keep my own pessimism in check. Turning venom into vaccine is my full-time, daily job. I work 365 days a year and although sometimes I call in sick, and other times I would like to call in dead, I am above all a fighter and I hate the idea to give up. In the past, my fury helped me to stay alive but that formula doesn't work anymore. Anger is my villain and the integrity of my whole digestive system depends on me taking anger out of the equation. I asked the Higher Powers to help me. (I call it Higher Powers to skip the discussion over the name. Life, Universe, God, Supreme Energy, insert the name you prefer.)

I believe in the power of prayers but I also believe in action. It's not my style to sit and beg for the Higher Powers to fix the mess I did (knowingly or unknowingly, by will or by mistake). I believe in taking responsibility for my actions and if it is shit what I have before me, I definitively had something to do to make it so. My prayer is not "Fix this for me" but more along the lines of "Teach me how to clean this mess and make it right." Usually, God answers me, not with The Voice from the Above but through anything and anyone around me. I have to keep alert, though.

Mike L. Swift gave me a book as a gift. Neither of us knew at the time he was acting as God's messenger and he wasn't sending a book but delivering vital information I've asked for weeks earlier. It was the help I needed to get back to the ring. My gratitude to Mike and knowing he is suffering right now twisted my heart badly. I am too far away but I still wanted to help him in a way that truly mattered. I turned to the Higher Powers "How can I pay back for the help he gave me?" Pray with action. The idea echoed in my mind while I was about to start my exercise routine (which I really didn't feel strong enough to do.) So I got on the treadmill and thought "God, Mike gave me a sparkle and I am going to turn it into a beacon, for him and for me. Please deliver what he needs in the way you see fit."

As I was doing this, I thought on M.J. Joachim who asked me to send prayers her way and all the times her writings had put my ideas on place. I thought on Gary's reason to smile, his son, and the many smiles he has gifted me with. I thought on Jeff and Alex and their personal dreams, and how they support my own dreams. And Laura and Julie, who cheer me through their respective challenges. I thought on all of those who have been there for me one way or another. Suddenly, I watched the mile counter in disbelief.  I broke my own record as I got the answer to the missing factor of my equation. Replace anger with friendship and love. Those dear to the dragon can be my new propeller, as I pray with action for you all. I commit to make the seeds you've given me give fruit and this effort I dedicate to you as I plead for God to deliver what you need in the way He sees fit. You are heroes for you're helping me save my life by becoming a powerful reason for me to behave heroically.

At one point or another, we all have the chance to be Heroic Messengers. We can all be the Hand and the Voice that delivers the answer we're needing. And I am celebrating I have eyes to see it, ears to hear it and a heart that has a place for love and friendship.