Paralysis by Lucrezia Dal Toso

Introduction of the author
Being alone makes you think.
And sometimes thinking isn’t good.
Yourself is the only one around.
Not just one, two of you, actually: one
you that feels and thinks and another
you that watches yourself feeling and
thinking. Almost a role game. But the
observer yourself sometimes does
not appear immediately, but remains
silent to observe. And there come the
hardest moments. When the breath
gets shorter. When the head weighs
down. When no word or action seems
worth it. Because that’s when the mind
takes over. And no one, no one but
yourself can help you get through
that moment. I say moment because
it won’t last forever. There are good
and bad moments. They all go by
and they all end. To overcome a fear,
you have to look it in the face, touch
it with your hand, dive yourself into it
and recognize it. Only after you have
been in close contact with it you can
see the fear from the outside and say
“It was just a phase. And I managed to
overcome it with my own strength.”
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