Rejection as a Creative Force \ stacker news ~the_stacker

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598 sats \ 4 comments \ @Kontext 18h the_stacker_muse

Written: January 7, 2023

A time will come in your life when you get rejected. It will happen when you think it’s inevitable that you belong. You will be rejected by someone you have deep, unwavering feelings for. And that rejection will shake you to the core. You will be disappointed, sad, perhaps even angry. That’s okay, that’s normal. Accept your reality as it is. That state of despair and hopelessness shines a spotlight on the things that are not good within yourself and your surroundings. The brighter the light, the darker the shadows. That state is not a state to live in though. You enter that state, identify the shortcomings and move on. There are some things you can change and some things you have to accept. Some things you can circumvent.

The core realization, and the hardest part to accept, is simply that you are not as good as you thought you were. And neither is the world. Therein lies the choice: Are you going to get angry? Or are you going to get creative? I think the choice is quite easy. As I like to say:

"The only known cure for the pain of existence is the joy of creation."

But you do have to put in the work to move on. That state is not a state to live in. Connect to yourself, your mission and detach. Deploy and detach. Deploy your energy and detach from the results, the future and expectations. You are not entitled to anything. Sometimes we forget it because we like to tell ourselves we are doing good and perhaps even some other people might tell us we are doing good. So, naturally, ideas may arise as if we deserve something. Which we do, but also, we don’t. Not yet.

So, be grateful for the person or the people who rejected you. Because this is your chance. They’ve torn you down so you can rebuild yourself. This is just another form of ego death. Now that you have experienced the lows, you can find out how high you can rise again. To realize your full potential. To complete your mission.

She pushed you off of the edge of the cliff, but not because she wanted you to die. She wanted you to find your wings and fly.

Thank you.

Originally written: January 7, 2023, Mullumbimby, Australia. Photos: December 2022 - January 2023, Byron Bay & surroundings, Australia. Audio version recorded and essay published: July 2025, Suure-Jaani, Estonia.

This post is available as audio on Fountain, Spotify and most other podcast platforms. You can also download the text and/or audio via SATOSH.EE

AI's vision of a surrealist cover for this essay (model: HiDream I1 Dev)

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0 replies \ @Kontext OP 16h

"Rejection as a Creative Force" is a short essay on how a total destruction of one's ego and self-image can, and should, act as a precursor to a rebirth of sorts, a catalyst for striving towards the ideal. Written in January 2023.

About a year after writing this, I wrote something in my journal that could very well serve as a summary of the essay:

SHIT IS SUPPOSED TO BREAK YOU DOWN SO YOU COULD BUILD YOURSELF UP. THAT’S THE BLESSING AND THE CURSE.

55 sats \ 1 reply \ @SimpleStacker 17h

I think it helps to recognize:

The things that are your fault
The things that are not your fault
The things that are your fault that you're willing to change and work on
The things that are your fault, but you aren't willing to change or work on because you don't think they're actually bad things, just different

30 sats \ 0 replies \ @Kontext OP 16h

Valid points, for sure! But also, in my case, prior to this specific rejection that inspired this essay, there were many other rejections... so I know it wasn't an outlier, or an exception. Besides, I think that if one can embody the Divine Masculine (or Feminine) to the fullest, then I'm not sure if anyone from the opposite sex, given that they are of the appropriate age and single, could turn them down. Whether it is possible for one to really embody the Divine Masculine / Feminine in such a manner is a different question; as is whether the opposite sex, given that we are living in an age of warped identities and gender roles, could actually recognize that. I wrote a foreword / personal backstory to this piece a couple of days ago as well, where I went into all this in more detail. But as it gets even more personal than this rather vague essay, I decided not to publish it (yet). Maybe after I give it a few years to ferment...😃

And I'd also add that rejection can come from many different places. Yes, this was written from a perspective of a romantic interest. But one can also be rejected by friends, family, communities, employers, customers, potential investors, etc.

I have encountered many different types of rejections, both before and after writing this essay. And keeping the main point of what I wrote here in mind has helped me cope and keep moving forward despite them. It reminds me to always choose to create - or iterate.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @unschooled 16h

The only known cure for the pain of existence is the joy of creation."

the world would be a much better place to live in if more people lived by this.