We all have things that are said to us that are triggering, or perhaps 'upsetting' is a better word. It might not be a trauma flashback, but it prompts an emotional reaction. For me, one is being called intense.
I am intense. I own that. It's great for art, for poetry and writing, it's been great for the gym, it's even great for some aspects of romance (I prefer to call my intensity 'passion'), but I do understand that it's not for everyone. Not everyone likes to play with fire. Not everyone can handle it.
There's a quote by Sylvia Plath that paraphrased says whatever she feels, she feels it wholly. Even when it’s nothing, she feels it completely. That's me. When I feel something, I truly feel it. I am working on taming my fire so it works for me, instead of against me, however my spirit is still made of flames.
"What is to give light must endure burning." ~Viktor Frankl
This is a quote I've adopted in my Art & Advocacy business to encapsulate my life journey. Not everyone appreciates light however. Not everyone wants to see what the light brings.
Included in this post is a poem I came across in 2020. I loved it and the art included with it, and I still do. I see this as intensity at its finest. It's a raw energy - a power that moves me. It speaks to that 'larger than life' mentality that I carry. Not everyone wants to be moved of course. Art is also subjective, people will be moved in ways that the artist, author or musician may never have intended or even wanted. I think that's a sign of good art though. For me, art isn't meant to be created for the masses, it's meant to stir and disturb, to challenge and provoke thought. To make us love, to make us cry, to make us feel things that perhaps we didn't want to feel, but, we needed to feel. It gives us strength, connection, encouragement, and hope. It gifts us with tranquility. It can keep us going when our minds bombard us, screaming at us that we can't go on.
To some, my passion will be suffocating while to others it's air in their lungs.
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