Excess philosophy

As I think about what to write today the only phrase that comes to mind is “ravages of excess” otherwise known as Boxing Day in the UK. I am now wondering who said it first as according to the Google it appears to be a common phrase used by journalists and health care professionals, mainly to describe Shane MacGowan from the Pogues.

In my quest to find the person who coined the phrase ( I failed) i found this quote by Albert Camus:

“Whatever we may do, excess will always keep its place in the heart of man, in the place where solitude is found. We all carry within us our places of exile, our crimes and our ravages. But our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to fight them in ourselves and in others.”

Hello, message of the day.

Thanks to the excesses of Christmas day I’ve been tired, stroppy and doing my utmost to stop myself unleashing my wrath onto the world. For some people Christmas day doesn’t just represent excess of food and wine, but (deep breath before I say something controversial) social excess. As Piscean squared (Sun and Mercury conjunct in a Pisces 12th House) company is lovely but sometimes I, the “me”, can get a bit lost. I’ve mentioned before the impulse to take on the group’s energy to the expense of my own. I think this is why its essential for me to retreat to my spot of solitude for a while to recoup.
Some form of energetic lint cleaning goes on as I spend time picking off the energy that is not mine. Sometimes the process needs to be entirely conscious with a specific meditation, sometimes is happens on its own. Afterward I am ready to return to the world.

And I think this kind of reflective blogging may play in role in the cleaning process too.

So thank you Mr Camus for your wisdom of the day. I’ll go and be sociable now.