The Monster

The monster lost its power over me.

For most of my life, it controlled me and made me do anything it wanted me to.

I always tried to avoid its crushing grip but never succeeded.

Fighting it only made it stronger.

Eventually, I decided to look at it.

It took ages before I could look at it without the fear stopping me.

After that came huge amounts of sadness, which eventually faded.

Anger was next and seemed like it would never go away.

Fortunately, it, too, eventually faded.

One day, I realized that the monster was merely my own inner pain.

I then decided to see what would happen if I loved the pain instead of hating it.

As I did all of this, the monster got smaller and weaker every step of the way.

Its control over me loosened the smaller and weaker it got.

My own power grew and strengthened the more I did this.

My dog Sawyer helped immensely by loving me through all of it.

Eventually, the monster went away entirely.

I’ve been free ever since.