Examining Our Own Toxicity
Toxic relationships — stopping the sick cycle of blaming others for our own shortcomings
Disclaimer:
I have been guilty of all the offenses I outline in this article and then some. My intent here is not to sit in the seat of judgment and point the finger of blame down at people. I also realize that those people with extreme cases are likely not going to be reading this. What I am aiming towards is helping anyone who is on the path of self-discovery and personal development, who may be able to relate to some of these character blemishes and learn from my experiences. If any of the questions or ideas I go over in…
Darkness is light
Lightness is dark
The blackest of ash
Begins with a spark
Pain is joy
Joy is pain
Every great flood
Was once a drop of rain
There is no wrong without right
No big without small
No whisper without a scream
No rise without a fall
Never has there ever been one thing without the other
Since they cannot exist alone they are the same
There is no sorrow without happiness
No forgiveness without blame
There are no tears without laughter
No finish without a start
All exist together
And all are far apart
Nothing is everything
…
And the simple, but not so easy, solution
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
We as humans all have different cultural, socio-economic, and environmental backgrounds that tend to divide us. There are also many other should-be trivial things that separate us as a united people, such as; religion, race, gender, sexual preference, nationalism, profession, political affiliation, history, education, age, style, musical taste…the list goes on and on. None of these things really make us different from one another. Rather, the perceived differences between us are merely distinct qualities that…
A holiday poem for every day
The magic of Christmas,
Is not just in the day,
The wonder lies deeper,
Than a fat man in a sleigh
The magic of Christmas
Is not under the tree,
Wrapped in red, white and green
It’s inside you and me
The magic of Christmas
Is not one time a year,
It’s right there in your heart
And it’s always this near
The magic of Christmas
Is sadly forgotten,
Once we’ve opened the toys
And sweaters of wool and cotton
The magic of Christmas Is not a day at all, but a spirit, An angel's soft song of hope Sung…
Money may not buy it, but love does have a price
True Love is not free.
We’ve all heard it said many times and in many ways, and have quite possibly repeated it on many occasions, that love is free, love doesn’t cost a thing or money can’t buy love. Although it is true that money cannot buy love, I strongly disagree with the sentiment that love for another human being does not have a price.
When we are truly in love with someone, we are willing to pay for that love with much more than silver and gold. Love is not a commodity to be bought, sold and traded, but it is a precious energy…
Wake up and make them a reality!
“Remember your dreams and fight for them. You must know what you want from life. There is just one thing that makes your dream become impossible: the fear of failure.”
— Paulo Coelho
We all have dreams. We all have amazing things that we wish to do with our lives. Every one of us has daydreamed as a child to grow up and live a life full of excitement and adventure. Yes, that may look different to each of us but the fact remains, that when we were young, we all wished to truly live life.
So what stops most…
Sometimes love alone is just not enough to save your relationship
As it has been said, ‘love is a beautiful and many-splendored thing’. When love becomes toxic however, matters can shift to not so beautiful and downright horrific very quickly. All of the love in the world will not pull you out of the terrors of a toxic/abusive relationship. There is a moment inside of a toxic relationship when you realize that things just aren’t going to get better as they are and drastic changes have to be made on your part.
“You have to decide for yourself what you want for yourself, what behavior you choose to participate in and…
Prose Poem
There is a bizarrely familiar and anesthetizing comfort lurking deep inside the sadness and discomfort of a wounded soul; that begs the heart to surrender to its paralyzing grip. The life-piercing pick of maddening malevolence, strums the broken strings of a tattered heart as consciousness begins to evanesce and slip.
If one ventures too far down this dismal and dreary cavern of quiet madness, the mind proceeds to spiral listlessly into the never-ending well of selfish sorrow. Without a lifeline to escape the horror of today and promises of an even darker tomorrow.
Wallowing for what seems an eternity amid…
Brief thoughts on love, words, and vibrational frequencies
“Words have a magical power. They can either bring the greatest happiness or the deepest despair.”
— Sigmund Freud
Throughout my entire life,
I have heard people overuse, misinterpret and absolutely adulterate the word love in the English language. Hell, I’ve even been guilty of it myself on multiple occasions. I can’t help but think that maybe we have weakened the power of such a significant spiritual force in the world, by overusing the word with very weak connotations.
I mean everyone likes pizza, right? But do you really love it?
I mean come on, it’s food. Of course, I am highly appreciative of food and its ability to simultaneously trigger the pleasure center in my…
When in doubt, write…
When you are bored, write.
When you are excited, write.
When you are somewhere in between bored and excited but just aren’t sure exactly how to express the sentiment in words, write.
When you are having a bad day, write.
When you are having a great day, write.
When you are having one of those days that feels like it’s never going to end and you just can’t seem to find your equilibrium, write.
When the words are flowing like a fountain of knowledge, write.
When the words just won’t come and you can’t seem to even string a few…
Bobby J Mattingly
Author * Poet * Social Media Strategist * Content Creator * Personal Development Advisor * Inspirational Speaker
