Using The Opening Thread To Navigate Dark Times

I’m a fan of anime. It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure, but also a fun and digestible way to engage with themes of strength, sacrifice, camaraderie and loss. It’s not uncommon that I spot something that speaks profoundly to the emotional and spiritual work that I’m doing.

Mostly recently I’ve been racing through Demon Slayer, trying to finish the series before the release of the movie (I’m writing this on September 12th). In Demon Slayer, the protagonist, Tanjiro, uses his unique sense of smell to detect what he calls the Opening Thread - a wire visible to the viewers that shows him a direct path to the neck of a demon, and ultimately victory. This technique is emblematic of the character - relentlessly seeking new opportunity, never backing down, and triumphing through sheer force of will.

We can similarly always find an Opening Thread, even in the darkest and foggiest of circumstances. In practice, this may be felt as a bubbling of hope in your chest or an intuition of opportunity. To help locate such an experience I use something that I’ve been unceremoniously referring to as the Optimism Exercise. This can be applied generally, but I find it’s best employed towards a single challenging aspect of life - let’s say finances. The challenge is to list and recite every positive interpretation or piece of optimistic data about your finances. The trick is that what you list must feel true. It might go something like this: “I have x amount of dollars in my bank account. It’s not as much as I’d like but I’ve made concrete steps in the last month towards increasing my financial literacy and it’s reasonable to think that my situation will improve with the growth that’s happening.” This is a powerful reframe, and opens up important inquiry. If things are in fact going well, if I lean into a sense of trust that things are always working towards my benefit, then what do I need to do to face the real challenge (not the terrifying imagined threat) of the present moment? Here we affirm the opportunity and possibility of this moment and can move towards actionable self-support. 

There is always opportunity, there is always a way to move forward. Find the Opening Thread and slay your demons.