Jozzmos: Screaming for Closure

Closure. What a wonderful topic to discuss and what an amazing feeling to have when it’s achieved.  Google’s definition is as follows:

1.“a sense of resolution or conclusion at the end of an artistic work.” 2.“a feeling that an emotional or traumatic experience has been resolved.”

These days, I’ve observed that on social media everyone, including me, is screaming for closure. From breakups to civil rights, individuals are hunting for closure and relief from all of our perceived ills, personal and societal. And many of us just want to finish that drawing or painting. In many instances we just need a why. “If I only knew why they broke my heart”, or “Why would someone be so cold and (seemingly) uncaring!” “Why and how can one group of people deny others the same basic human rights that others have?!!” Right now, for me it’s “Why am I still caring about everything I have no control over, and why am I deluding myself into thinking I can do anything about it?” Even bigger, “Why are we here and doing all this life and living stuff; to what end, what’s the closure?” Is that what religion was designed to do, to give some kind of end all closure to this whole thing? Imagine if instead of being used to control and harm those we don’t agree with, that all religions were used for simple comfort about the unknown. But that’s a story for another day.

Let’s go back to the big one on relationships. We’ve probably all been there, or will experience this at some point in time.  Everything is all happy and butterflies, alive and vibrant; we’ve gotten caught up being “in love, Disney style, the way Disney “love” relationship “should” be. (Please forgive my usage of quotation marks and strange way of writing; it’s part of my existential issues with closure and my general view of life in this now.)

Anyhow, using that view of how it should be, we get all crazy when that view is turned upside down. As Stevie Nicks sang, “Shatter your illusions of love”.  Due to all our conditioning, we so easily get lost in how we think it should be, whatever that might be, we can’t see that it could be a great thing, and in that gain closure, and thus begin the healing process! I think we too often stand in our own way when it comes to healing and achieving peace. To quote my favorite Neil Peart – “We could be down and calm, but we hold on”.

Now to lighten it up a bit…thinking about creative art projects, I want to finish just one page in my mandala coloring book, so I can see the beauty of the lines and colors all coming together to make an entire new and beautiful image…. but then what next!  Scary!  Do I want that closure? Well yes, cause I can do another page, completely different, but just as fun and appealing. I’m speaking of art here. Yet you can apply whatever may come to mind. Dare we journey into the global perspective here? Maybe so. Follow me as you can. I’m not even sure where we are going with this one. Isn’t this fun!

Human rights.  Pardon my language, BUT WHY THE HELL IS THIS STILL AN ISSUE IN THE WORLD, especially in the United States of America? Keeping in mind those rights and lifestyle don’t infringe upon others or cause direct harm to others, why should any group of humans still have to speak out for their own rights to live as they wish?

I know this is controversial, yet I continually see this attributed to the dark side of religion — that controlling and manipulating side. The side that too many focus on when the love, forgiveness, and grace is lacking from their own lives.  Oh yes, mine too.

This is my closure on why such horrible things still exist today: In the past, people decided they didn’t like or agree with the life ways of other people and that if they couldn’t kill them, they’d make up a god and create a big story and set of rules with threats of punishment and eternal punishment to control how said control group acted and lived. Without ways of knowing truth, those stories would be passed down for generations to come, with the same agenda all along the way. It’s ok if you don’t see it this way. I’m not offended. How can our entire world and all the suffering of its people and finally find closure for the suffering?  Do we accept that suffering is part of the whole experience?

What say you?  What do you think? Do you dwell on these things, or has closure already come for you?

May we all find our closures.  Peace y’all.

Jozzy Allman, Columnist

Jozzy is an advocate for health and wellness, of body, mind, and emotions. He shares “what works for (him).” Jozzy also spins fire and cooks creative cuisine.