Comments on: The Art of Letting Go….

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:57:02 +0000

I feel the same. My life is fantastic and yet most of the time I feel frustrated and worried and really low. I too am a writer (as yet unpublished) and perhaps what we feel is due to having a tortured artist’s soul (according to some friends who labelled me so). If people let go of desire then they can achieve nothing because they will have no drive to carry on towards what they want. If it leads to suffering then it is only natural, but it is during periods of suffering that most is learnt about the important things in life.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 10:35:46 +0000

Pull it together pat you utterly self-absorbed frothing emo titmonkey :)I hope letting go makes ye happy pat and I hope your soup desire is well rewarded.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:58:22 +0000

I'm not sure about many things in this here world, but it's this one thing, your second book, the sequel, which I have a really good gut feeling about. And my gut is always right! So you see Pat, you need not worry whether your next book will be good or not because it will! My gut says so! Now, go to your sofa, grab a beer, watch some soap on tv and feel RELIEVED!Greetings from snowy Norway^^-Daniel.

By: Kip, advice-man

Kip, advice-man — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:05:04 +0000

Here is my remedy when i feel like you do:Drink a litre bottle of Backberry merlot, and watch Fight Club.Basicly Pat what it boils down to is this:Back when you were the teacher with debt, you knew where your limits lay. You had a smaller and simpler world, You were able to take care of what was in your sphere of control, and know you did your best, damned with the rest.Now, your sphere of control has grown and is continuing to grow. first, you havn't had much time to adjust. Second, You have "faces" to put to your anxiety about the second book, you have met the fans and talked to all of us for a long time. most likely you feel some pressure in the back of your mind telling you that we want this second book, and you don't want to disappoint us. One of my reasons for believing this is how often you make references to writing your second book, assuring us that you are working on it.Pat, honestly, You are a great writer and a wonderful person. I would much rather wait another year to read the next book if it keeps you from having a breakdown.

By: baldsilver

baldsilver — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:58:04 +0000

u are one interesting dude

By: Dudley Dawson

Dudley Dawson — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:51:24 +0000

"Don't just let go of desire Pat. Let go of Thought except as a tool. Because they are not you. Nor is your depression."At the risk of sounding trollish, what a load of sh*t this is. Only someone that's deeply ignorant of depression could make such a careless statement. Instant relief, my ass. I enjoy reading Buddhist philosophy, and I think a lot of it is really great and can be applied successfully to life; but good god, man. Get a grip. I'm all about letting go of desire and being unfettered, but if we're going to start letting go of thought "except as a tool" then we might as well be otters. Not that otters don't look happy, but I'd rather not spend my days looking adorable while cracking open clam-shells. Thought, pain and happiness are part of being a human. If any religion is selling b*llshit that says otherwise, I'm not buying it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:03:48 +0000

Hey Pat. Have a glass of you favorite beer. If you desire…Repeat!

By: word fencer

word fencer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:36:56 +0000

A couple of years ago, I won a writing contest. The prize was $50. I’d been obsessing over the ratings the entire month. When I won, I was excited. Then I cried unhappy tears. I got so depressed I could barely get my butt off the couch. It took me almost another month to get happy again. I don’t know what my deal was but your post reminded me of that time.

By: rebecca

rebecca — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:40:19 +0000

A similar sentiment from Fight Club (the movie):“Let that which does not matter, truly slide.”

By: mandiniii

mandiniii — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:19:20 +0000

I also agree there is a good amount of truth to that thought. However, I think Buddha’s solution to simply let go is often not enough. I don’t think any of us can ‘let go’ and find peace completely on our own. In contrast, Christ promises us that when we pray He will help us deal with our sufferings. Not that our troubles will necessarily be taken away, but at least He will help us find that inner peace we need to make it through. Buddha leaves us on our own to find relief, but Christ promises us relief and to share our sufferings with us. That to me is real comfort.