Crossroads

Many of us in the states have heard of the Crossroads myth. A place where one's desires can be achieved overnight by a deal offering your soul to a demon, or more specifically, the devil. To bypass the struggles of efforts and failures to achieve a desired outcome instantaneously. Myths and folklore are always analytical tools to ensure lessons are taught from our ancestors to their descendants and many of their lessons continue to echo through the ages. However, the myth of the crossroads deal is so powerful yet unique because people want to feel like they have an understanding of a “reasoning” behind things, to feel like they know. What most do not stop to contemplate is there are things out there that are not meant for us to understand. This myth of a crossroads deal has something to do with us trying to find something fantastic that makes our life a little bit more interesting, or possibly a little bit more dangerous. Perhaps there is a deeper meaning to what a crossroads deal really is and how it truly applies to creative minds.

We all come upon a crossroads in life. That feeling of a fork in the road that will change your character forever. But the crossroads deal, as a metaphor, is not a meeting with a literal devil but a figurative one. That devil is you. The demon of choice in which we face how much we will sacrifice to achieve greatness. How much of our ego we will allow to take over, how much we allow our creative mind to set into our ways and possibly destroy ourselves from within such as our tragically loved musicians in the 27 club. It can form into an unhealthy relationship from within. A poison where you lose yourself to your artistic side. Where your ego is controlling you and your humanity. How much will you put aside and ignore to pursue the chase of your muse. How much will you allow toxic tools of development to course through you and ingrain into your everyday patterns of living. Too much, and it could kill you.

We have examples upon examples of fallen beautiful artistic minds tragically lost because they fill the void in their heart with drugs and alcohol because of the inability to understand the balance of having a creative mind. Having a creative mind is almost a given to having a mental health issue. The healthy balance of the ups and downs and being in tune with the seasons of your state of mind that circulate through you day to day. There's more than one way to look at time and its flow. Understanding that the fluctuations of your mental health have a root cause, a trauma from your youth, which can fluctuate not just as the literal seasons pass, but day to day as the year goes on, you can feel internally a different way mentally. Recognize these feelings, and meet them face to face and come to terms that they do exist. Become so familiar with them over time that you know how to work with your artistic passion best suited to your moods in the healthiest fashion depending on where you are mentally.

It is the essence of the phrase “practice makes perfect”. And in this sense, it is the focus on what you can do in your day that could make your life 10x better. We know we must practice to analyze ourselves. Practicing our craft just to do it, to form a pattern in our day. No one else needs to see, no one will be grading it, there essentially is no deadline for practice. It is done so, to simply do. To set the time aside and discipline yourself with your passion. Giving your mind the time to reflect on the practice and to have the mind develop in regards to your passion. The activity in which you choose to do daily to enhance your life does not need to start off taking you one hour or even 30 minutes. Nor does it need to be perfect, it is the fact that you begin to do it and to put those pressures on yourself otherwise IS your ego at work. Let the ego go, focus on the activity genuinely and freely like a child playing with their toys. Understand that you are building yourself up, and starting this activity of practice at one minute a day is just fine.

Giving into your ego is the “deal” with the demon at the crossroads. The only demon at play here is your ego and how much you choose to evaluate yourself and to understand you can seek help to better yourself. Knowing there are the right people to go to in your life in this world to help you along the way is one of the many enjoyments and wonders of this world, having friends or a significant other understand your progress through the crossroads and coming out as healthy as possible. Set your eyes on YOUR desired destination and understand the company you keep should be helping you in the most genuine and healthy way. It is not about the destination nor the journey but who we choose to accompany us along the way. 

Other than the myth of them making a deal at the crossroads with the devil, each member of the 27 club had the common belief that they felt truly alone and never felt understood. Their ego prevented them from taking a healthy and closer look at those in their life that really could have helped them if they had just taken a look within themselves and seen how much love they had around them, and how much those that loved them have already tried to help. The company we choose can truly shape us. 

Understanding what toxicity looks like in yourself and within others is a major tool to know when you meet good company that can help you along the way with your passions in life. Toxicity and the ego is a poisonous parasite. It laches on deep ingraining itself to your heart, your mind and your spirit. It courses its way through you so early in life, some people never learn they have been infected. It mainly ingrains itself from familial influence. Like all parasitical life forms it fights to keep you in its grasp feeding off you and your energies. But not just your own energies, no. While the parasite of Toxicity latches deep, it also feeds off others around you based on your actions and how you treat individuals and how you make them feel. The parasite of Toxicity can be healed. It can be removed, but be warned, as all parasites that catch on to being removed tend to do, they begin to grow more aggressive and fight much harder to latch on. Do not be discouraged and tricked into feeling no progress is being made as toxicity is a crafty infection. As you deal with your own toxic traits, or with other toxic individuals, do not be discouraged when you know healing is in progress and things seem to get worse. Keep pushing the toxicity out, dive deeper and deeper to find that parasite's core and see it face to face. When it fights back and lashes out towards others, remember we have the simple technique of communication. Communicate with others and apologize as you heal. Explain to them your current process. No need to over share or over explain, if they genuinely wish to know more, feel free to continue, but if they do not understand nor want to, it is best to steer clear. 

Myth is a powerful thing. We want to make a feeling of understanding, but ask yourself, is this meant for me to understand? Or rather, is this meant for me to understand right now? Align yourself to your passions in a genuine manner that really aligns with your truest self. Ensure your company is happy to see you grow and never be discouraged to seek out help. The demon awaiting you to make that deal at the crossroads is you. You and your relationship with yourself. Seek a healthy balance. Signing your soul away is you giving into the ego and unhealthy development of the dynamic of your relationship you have with your passion. And despite what the myth of the crossroads continues to exemplify in modern storytelling (that is, once the deal is made there is no going back). You can always abjure from this contract of giving into your ego because you can always go back on a deal with yourself, it is never too late to choose to heal.