Letter Never Sent

Dear X—

Don’t fight the demons in your head—that will always be a losing proposition. You must realize the demons are there. The demons were invited in at an impressionable age and will always live in your head. You should acknowledge the demons and realize that they will not go away; they will reside in your head as long as you have consciousness. Embrace those demons; they are part of you, and then release them every time they appear and they will eventually dissipate of their own accord. They may stop manifesting themselves as often as they do now, or they may not, but railing against them and haranguing yourself for having them with you will amount to nothing but a self-imposed misery. They will always be there, or at the peripheries, and you must deal with that.

Best & Love—

C.

“Too many things to name are gone and we are left with this clowning earth, these cynical trees—shadows, all, of themselves. And we, too, are beyond help.”

— Lydia Davis / “Smoke”