“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” – John Quincy Adams
“Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.” – Orson Wells
I don’t know about you, but I have a whole closet full of “mindset” opinions when it comes to judging myself. Why is it we get stuck with thoughts and ideas from years ago? Does our inner mind or subconscious not grow? And why doesn’t it whisper positive things to me? Is this normal, or is this just me?
There are many things that are “just me,” but this isn’t. As Morton Kelsey, one of my fav authors states, “. . . the line between “normality” and “abnormality” is not like a Berlin Wall between unconscious contents and outer reality; the ability to distinguish which is inner and which is outer is essential if we are to be effective.”
Learning about reality and the unconscious is a developmental stage, one that stays with us throughout life. There is not a filter to keep conscious and subconscious separate. And, be aware, the subconscious does not have a sense of humor! Rather a serious element, huh? Wouldn’t want that said about me! As adults, we project our feelings on others and sometimes rely on our inner world (thinking/stewing) to translate experiences. We don’t want to deny our inner feelings, we just want to figure out how we can creatively have help from this ‘within’ element to better understand our life and our world.
An area that can help sort through some of this is our worship affiliation. When we attend church, there are sacramental elements of which we partake. This has been the case since the beginning of man. A focus outside of ourselves. Real belief is how we think about and how we act toward God, how we meditate, how we pray, and, especially, how we treat others. God only asks us to treat others in the same manner in which we are treated by Him.
Don’t give up or get discouraged. We are all on the same road! Find joy! It’s there.