(Un)Common Sense

   If you had to lose one of your five senses which would you choose? Sight - would you even see this? Hearing - wouldn’t you miss the music? Touch - hot, cold, whatever! Smell - is that you or the dog? Taste - would we still crave chocolate?

   How do people manage without one or more of these senses? It is amazing to me. I always admired people like Helen Keller. They can still contribute so much to the world. Even with all five senses some of us don’t do so well. 

   So there must be something more than just our five senses that add to our humanity.

john hain on pixabay

   Of course there are lots of things. Something deeper than a physical sense, or another kind of sense: sense of self, sense of responsibility, sense of honor, sense of humor, sense of belonging. You name it - it’s sensational!

   When something is “senseless” it doesn’t mean lacking the five bodily senses. It’s deeper, cutting right to the core of being a human - being authentic, being real, being able to empathize, care, understand.

   The senseless people are all around us. We see evidence everyday on our Twitter and Facebook streams, we hear about it in the gossip, we shake hands with dishonest dealers, we smell the stench of pollution, we taste the impurities in the water and food.

   What is wrong with us? Where is our humanity? Have we lost our senses?      Theresa M.

     quote:  "Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people."   Carl Jung

Listen, Here

“The wind tells me to be calm. The stars tell me to believe.” 

                                                                         
   I just made that up, in a moment of quiet, a moment of meditation and peace. A brief moment, but it sure helped.

   Reflection is always positive. I think some people are much too afraid to slow down, to simply be quiet and listen within. They’re too afraid of the negative thoughts that may have been haunting them for years, perhaps even since childhood. Blaming, criticizing, along with all the shouting about duties and responsibilities one must go do now.

   How sad when one won’t listen within. If there is that much to fear, then even more than ever one needs guidance. Whether with the help of a therapist, a spiritual counselor, or simply a friend, life can be so much easier to deal with in a moment of quiet.

   Slow down. Take small steps. Start with a journal - write those thoughts. I remember being very frightened of all that came out of my mind when I first tried that. So much sadness and hopelessness. As a teenager I knew something was very wrong when I would total up the “good” days and “bad” days every month. Repeatedly I had so many “bad” days, that I gave up tracking it!

   Things can get a lot worse sometimes before they get better. Without going into detail, let me assure you that there may be times you give up doing the things that are healthful, but most likely you get another chance to get it right; just don’t risk too many chances.

   For me, a Higher Power is the key. We all have a choice. Choose to move forward with help, or stay stuck in the “bad” days. May the wind and stars bring you peace. Theresa M.

pixabay.com

We Remember

   “Remember when?” How often have we used this phrase, then delightfully reminisce about a shared event. Hopefully most remembrances are happy ones, or at least fondly looked back on with new insight, a light emerging from a dark place of long ago.

  I recently read of a woman who wrote a memorial** for her dad, using humorous honesty, a simple from-the-heart approach. The article notes that many strangers responded to honor the man because they felt such a familiarity with him - he was like their grandfather, or son, or uncle. People related to the humor and the day-to-day similarities. Their admiration had nothing to do with him being famous, rich, or some other puffed-up social status, he was none of those. 

   How alike so many of us are. Time and time again people find out this reality. We may be in a terrible crisis, perhaps depression, feeling very alone, hopeless, helpless. Only by reaching out can we even begin to thread a connection, to awaken that deep familiarity we have with others.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/predi

   Carl Jung (1845-1961), a great psychotherapist, talks about the “collective unconscious.” (Look it up, fascinating!) One part of it I believe is that deep within we all have a “knowing” of what it is like to live in another’s circumstances. We know. We may not want to “review” it, we may not want to “envision” it, so we put up the walls to protect our psyche from thinking we could ever “be like that,” with “that” being poor, homeless, raped, abused, or even simply being black, Hispanic, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim or whatever prejudice one comes up with. 

   Science is showing the incredible mixture of various DNA cultures that is within all people. Coupled with the collective unconsciousness within us, the very Spirit of Life -makes us all so similar. We may have different experiences, different socio-economic classes, different colors, different religions. But deep, deep down within us, within our minds, our hearts, our very souls, we know. 

   We know good and well we all belong to one another. We know good and well we can relate - we do relate- to one another. Remember when… Theresa M.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” Carl Jung

pixabay.com john hain

**Washington Post article “The hilarious obituary that made strangers miss a man they never knew” by Martha Eltagouri (obit by Jean Lahu on her father Terry Ward - was on Legacy.com)

Precious Moment

   Living just for today is not an easy thing to do. The phrase “one day at a time” is a most notable one in the 12-step recovery programs. Even the Bible teaches us to “not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” -Matt 6:34.

   Apparently living outside of today, means we’ll likely be worrying if we’re looking ahead. Yeah, that just about fits. Even when I’m just planning something, those “but-what-ifs” start strolling in, slanting their little question-mark heads to the left, to the right, then they’re bobbling back and forth, confounding me with potential problems!

stefan baudy on flickr.com

   In visiting the past, these pesky patrons of inquests turn into “maybe I should’ve” with those little frowny faces focused on “should’ve-ing” right into “and if I had, what if” again!  It turns my whole life into a complete fiction!

   What a waste of time (plus energy of the brain) it is. We can’t change it, so no I shouldn’t have. I did whatever it was I did at that time - for better or worse (yes, even those of you who said this as your wedding vows!) - and live with the consequences, and learn from it!    [see “Living Lessons of Life” blog]

   What we choose for today is the same - live with it into tomorrow, learn from it. Try to go on and grow on.

   

   Yes, there may be a multitude of problems now going on, debts to pay, lives to care for. Sure it’s hard to stay focused on today - sometimes holding onto a moment at a time is needed. Then I think of another verse in Matt 6, number 27: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” 

   Worrying and projecting problems into the future, or regretting the past will steal time from our lives.

   Precious moment - the here and now - what’s it worth to you? Theresa M.

                       

 by Hartwig HKD https://www.flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/