Deus ex machina is any artificial or improbable device resolving the difficulties of a plot. We know what this looks like in fiction and how frustrating it can be to a reader or a watcher of a story. It feels like a betrayal because you’ve put all this time, effort, emotion, and, often times, hard-earned money into the story just to have the rug pulled out from under you. It’s the bait and switch of the fiction world and it makes us feel cheated and used.
How do we do this in our everyday lives? I mean, it was embarrassing when Fonzie jumped the shark, wasn’t it? Now it’s a pop culture reference that everyone understands is like when Jennie married Major Nelson. A dud, not a stud. We do this because we may have chosen to live in an acid bath of fear without even noticing. This makes us only as sick as our secrets. It’s the secrets close to home that concern me here. Let’s focus on the only thing any of us can control and that’s the person steering the ship.
For example, I need to ask myself questions like: is it a fallacy to believe that my heart chakra is closed or constricted in some way by something I said or did, didn’t say or didn’t do? What if it’s never not open? What if we’re only disconnected from Spirit because we think we are or think we deserve disconnection? One could insert whatever chakra comes to mind here, but this is what hit for me in this moment. I mean, think about how much Spiritual bulls*** gets cleared out with the outgoing tide if I/we conceptualize it that way.
Obviously, we all need to ask such questions, but it’s my duty on top of my duty to myself since I aim to have an honest and helpful platform with Wholly Holistics. Another way to phrase this question for those that don’t understand woo-woo, nor do they care to learn woo-woo: am I fooling myself if I don’t hold my mouth right for this particular situation? I mean, it’s Wednesday and I usually wear my lucky underwear on hump day, for obvious reasons. Oh crap, I forgot my lucky underwear, does this mean I don’t get the prize? Does this mean all is lost because I neglected my superstition? What else could go wrong? Something probably already did and I just don’t know it yet, but I will find it, or something worse, because I’m looking for it…
In the above case, if we assume that the heart is always open, it’s just a matter of our perception that makes it one way or the next. It’s amazing what we find when we’re looking for it. What if our perceptions lie to us? Even though perception often is reality, it’s a choice, isn’t it? What if our thoughts are merely just that and nothing more, assuming they were our thoughts to begin with?
If it feels superstitious, it is. If you do something or don’t do something out of fear, bargaining, ego, or hedging for a different outcome, let’s classify it superstition for the purposes of this discussion. Motives matter. Is denial a darker energy than anger? By “darker” I don’t necessarily mean demons, I mean hard to see through.
Sometimes we’re too smart for our own good, aren’t we? Worse yet, assuming everyone is on the same level as you are. This has been my sin, in one form or the other, for as long as I can recall. I have long underestimated myself to detriments I never want to fully appreciate on this side of the veil. However we hamstring ourselves matters very little other than knowing that the knife fight in the closet is occurring.
For you sensitive types, like myself, consider that the other may have been the asshole and your ire was justified. Wild concept, isn’t it? For others, they never consider a situation could be anyone but someone else’s fault. How does this line of questioning make you feel? I hope it feels as good as ramming a Q-Tip down your ear until you hit brain after a hot shower.
For many, this concept will be alarming. Be wary of confusing dissent with disloyalty. Yes, we can be ferociously loyal to our thoughts and feelings. After all, they lie with us while we’re awake at night. Let’s just make it okay to question our thoughts and feelings, that’s all.
This morning, as I was preparing to polish this article off by meditating a bit, an alligator popped in my head. Generally, I take this sort of thing as a cue to look up this animal’s totem, so I did. Here’s what Google told me: “…the alligator exemplifies power gained through experience. If you want to master an area of your life, whether it’s getting in shape, excelling in your career, or becoming an expert at a skill, the spirit of the alligator reminds you that with practice and dedication comes power.”
Let’s end by asking the question that should never be asked nor answered in fiction unless it’s for the sake of comedy: is it really that hard? What if life isn’t the fiction we make it out to be? Shouldn’t we be looking for ideas large enough to be afraid of? Simpler still, does life offer deus ex machina when we make a conscious decision to change our perception?
