The Beast Within

"He who makes a beast of himself relieves himself the pain of being a man."

-Hunter S. Thompson

The above quotation by the noted American journalist always makes me put my thinking caps on, not because of its complexity but because of the sheer possibility of its truthfulness. Is it indeed true that making a "beast" of ourselves can relieve us of our mortal fears and therefore elevate us to a higher level, a better life? Well, if you ask me, then my reply will depend, of all things, on my mood. While in a normal(read happy) mood, i will probably dismiss this quotation as being violent without a purpose,and rightly so, after all, making a beast of oneself is not the only, and certainly not the best way to relieve oneself of the everyday pains that we go through. More often than not, taking a calm and intelligent approach to our problems does the trick, even when the problems seem overwhelming at first sight. There seems to be no logic in reducing oneself to a beast to overcome our problems when there is a far simpler(and sensible) solution at disposal. Why then do i still believe,consciously or subconsciously, in the validity of the above statement? What then makes this statement so relevant a solution to our problems, at least in my opinion?

This question is best answered by my subconscious self. We all have a subconscious self, which we rarely,if ever, reveal to anyone because we ourselves are not fully aware of it. This,however, does not mean that our subconscious self never comes to surface. Although rarely, but it does surface -  when we are in a state of mind that makes us lose some control of our conscious self, such as when we are very angry, sad, excited, or ahem...drunk. Just think about it and you'll know what i'm talking about. Is it not true that when extremely angry or sad, you say things that you would have never ever said when you were in a normal mood. This is our subconscious mind at work - making us say or do things that we consciously would have never done or said.This is our subconscious mind at work - revealing our true nature to the world, revealing our true nature to ourselves.

When i am in a mood that makes my subconscious mind control my actions, it is then that Hunter S. Thompson's words begin to make perfect sense to me, so much so that even when i am "normal" back again, they still retain their importance. And this is what brings me back to the point of discussion - Is it true that making a beast of ourselves is a possible solution to our daily struggles? I say yes.

We often spend much of our day worrying about petty issues that do not deserve our attention, at least not to the extent that we bestow upon them. What's worse is that we waste our valuable time and energy every time we ponder over such issues. And whenever we try to clear our mind of such issues, more often than not, we fail.Terribly. And it is at times like these that the above mentioned words of Hunter S. Thompson should be treated like Bible. If for once, we could liberate our minds of all our routine troubles and dare to think freely, we would actually set ourselves free. By the word "beast", Thompson does not mean making an unthinking anti-social hate-preaching animal of oneself. He simply tells us to rise up above our mortal inhibitions and think freely,live freely. The (common) man is forced to face problems from all directions, be it social, personal, or financial. And he continues to do so until the point where he changes his view of life, until he realises that life is meant to be lived freely. And when he does so, he becomes truly free.He becomes a "beast", aware of his problems but unafraid all the same. This does not mean that he will no longer face his routine problems, all it means is that now he will not be burdened by them for he now knows how to rise above them. This is the true essence of Hunter Thompson's words. This is the true essence of life. 

Reality check, we all at times feel overburdened by our the complexities of our lives. And it is then that we should realise that the only way to ever fight them is to rise above them. And when we do, we will truly feel liberated. Believe me, we will.