Monsters

"It is a condition of monsters that they do not perceive themselves as such." - Anne Carson. Who is it that we consider a monster? Some would say a narcissist, some a child, some a person under stress, and certainly a dictator or a murderer could be considered monsters. We probably all have a different definition depending on our perspective. The most important thing to remember about them, though, is that some of them are human. They frighten us because they are us. "Until we have met the monsters in ourselves, we will keep trying to slay them in the outer world. For all darkness in the world stems from darkness in the heart. And it is there we must do our work." -Marianne Williamson. Who here doesn't have some darkness tucked away deep, hidden within your heart or simmering in your mind? This leads me to the following question-

Could I be a monster? "Our hearts are monsters. That's why our ribs are cages." -unknown. What makes a monster anyway? A heinous act, the lack of remorse? How about behavior so outside of normal that you cannot understand it at all? When someone scares us, it is wise to avoid them if we want to survive. After all, "You can love a monster, it can even love you back, but that doesn't change its nature." - Eliza Crewe, Crushed. The feelings associated with monsters can be anger, terror, disgust, or sympathy, fascination, and admiration. It is through these feelings that we judge or identify with monsters. So, is it alright to explore our monster side? "It's better to be a restrained monster than a well-behaved coward." - Jordan Peterson. Peterson is expounding on an idea from Carl Jung that in order to actually be a good person, we must be capable of causing great harm but make the choice not to. Every time you decide not to throat punch someone, you monster, you are exhibiting your goodness.

Do people who are called monsters have to take on all the responsibility for being one? "Why would I apologize for being a monster? Had anyone ever apologized for turning me into one?"- unknown. Can we judge what a person becomes in their attempt to survive this life? Like Dr. Frankenstein, what role do we play in the creation of our monsters? "You provoke her until she roars and then get upset at her for becoming the monster you created" -@xpressionsent. Erik from the Phantom of the Opera or Gollum from LOTR started out with the capacity to love but were turned into monsters due to isolation, rejection, and trauma. "You died screaming, yet the monster who took your place was silent. You are the weapon, and weapons do not weep." - H.A. (2015). We are uncomfortable with facing the reality that anyone, put under certain conditions, might become a monster, probably because we do not want to accept any responsibility for helping them along. When faced with being destroyed by a monster or becoming one ourselves, this question will be forever relevant "Is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?" - Friedrich Nietzsche.

Monster hunting - Many shows follow teams of people determined to capture monsters that are not human, like Bigfoot and the Lochness Monster. There are even more, both reality and fictional, that chase human monsters. "Among the monsters, I am well hidden; who looks for a leaf in a forest?" - Angela Carter, Night at the Circus. It’s a theme that’s been—and will continue to be—perennially popular. We enjoy believing that there are monsters in the world, people way worse than ourselves. Perspective plays a role in who we think these people are. The serial killer in Nip/Tuck known as The Carver said, "Beauty is a curse on the world. It keeps us from seeing who the real monsters are." He probably should have taken the following advice- "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back at you." - Friedrich Nietzsche, 1886, Beyond Good and Evil.

There is another way to describe a monster- "A monster is not such a terrible thing to be. From the Latin root monstrum, a divine messenger of catastrophe, then adapted by the Old French to mean an animal of myriad origins: centaur, griffin, satyr. To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once." - Ocean Vuong, A Letter To My Mother That She Will Never Read. Most people do not want to be considered a monster; most people do not want to be seen as anything other than normal. There are times a monster may be needed to bring about change that 'most' people are too frightened to initiate. "Sometimes the world doesn't need another hero, sometimes what it needs is a monster." -White Rabbit. Used in this way, a monster can be a powerful catalyst for change, and sometimes, change is needed. Besides, who wouldn't want to be Godzilla some days and stomp a few cars or trash a few buildings? Oops, maybe I gave too much away!😄.

Love and Hope,

Big Sky Baby