Riss has been having difficulty with certain emotional problems. I have told him my advice already, but posting it publicly seems to give it a greater weight.

Constant self-improvement is an admirable goal. All people, ideally, should desire it. There are two ways to assist this process, and they can be used in combination. One can increase awareness of when something is done wrong, and when one does something wrong, one remembers what was done and tries not to do it again. One can also increase awareness of when something is done right, and one will then try to repeat that action in the future.

I believe that the first method, when used excessively, will eventually lead to failure. It does not encourage action, but rather forces one to consider "negative action." One cannot do this, or that, or the other, or one can do this thing but not in this way, and on and on. In order for one to arrive at a course of action, one must first check every possibility against a long list of not-to-do's. At the very least, this process takes more time and more thought than the execution of the single to-do that is known to be correct. Considering action--what one can or should do--is faster and more productive than considering all the things that cannot be done, that should not be done, or that do not work.

Considering negative action is like approaching every problem backwards. Awareness of one's wrongdoing is necessary for proper perspective, but this awareness should be used to enhance one's knowledge of the right ways to act. Building a huge list of thou-shalt-not's is useless; the list will never be complete enough to include every possible wrong way to do something. When a person does something wrong, saying, "I will never do that again" is ultimately less productive than using the mistake to fine-tune the way that one does plan to act in the future.

Also, as my dear friend has sadly learned, focusing only on the things that one does wrong and being constantly afraid of doing more wrong things in the future is a greater drain on one's emotions than focusing on the things that one does right and endeavoring to act even more rightly. It is all still a balancing act, but my experience indicates that effort is better spent on action than on not-action.

Now I am aware that, in order to be of the best help to my friend, I should let us all go peacefully to sleep. Good night, Internet.

Last night there was an emergency in our apartment involving a repeatedly-overflowing toilet. Riss seemed rather surprised at how much I enjoyed helping out with this. The truth is that I have been involved with more disturbing situations that were not nearly as mundane. It's actually quite a relief to have something so simple and ordinary to take care of.

Maintenance has already been here and gone, but the results were good. Whatever made the plumbing explode has cleared the drains out nicely; Riss claims that the one in the shower is working better than it ever has in the past. The complex's representative claimed that the owners of the building would pick up the cost of cleaning the carpet. Possibly this will require us to wait for them at home, but if they arrive quickly enough, we may still be able to mail out our packages.

Relationships are still being patched up. I want this to work. I would be happy if only my days could be filled with these kinds of little troubles, problems easily weathered and solved. Maintaining Internal harmony will likely be the most difficult thing for us all, at least for now.

--S of S.

( Thoughts about some stories from this world. )

--S of S.