“Til this moment, I never knew myself”.
The world shifts. That moment, that amazing moment, where the mental clouds part, the light shines, and you suddenly burst into a new understanding about yourself and your place in the universe.
It can be either exhilarating, or terrifying. I’ve been there when people have either erupted in a sudden smile of pure joy, or lowered their heads and wept profusely.
It can be that powerful, or that painful.
The title of today’s work comes from the novel Pride and Prejudice. The protagonist, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, arrives at a difficult moment of self awareness, where she realizes that both her judgment and her conduct have been subject to the whims and waves of her ego, and not from a place of balance, honesty and truth.
Finding out how blind you have been can be a devastating experience.
As one who prided herself on her good judgment, discovering that she was as fallible and easily misled as any other person was a hard truth for Elizabeth to bear.
Once she had accepted it through, she was able to change both her thoughts and her behavior, and ultimately experience greater joy and happiness. I realize it’s only a novel, so the ending is going to be ok, but I have seen this happen time and time again with people who I have helped.
It just takes a moment of awareness, and the humility to make changes.
All of us are, in some way, blind to ourselves and our actions. Unless we train ourselves, and practice diligently, most of us operate on a level that is basically automatic; not questioning our motives or discovering our unconscious desires.
People who have arrived at an advanced self awareness usually do so as a result of a painful situation that forces them to examine themselves at a deeper level.
But you don’t have to wait for a bad day (or week, or month, or year) to start on your journey.
You can begin by watching how you react to any situation, and asking yourself if your emotions and your behavior were proportional to the stimulus.
Find yourself yelling at the person who cut you off…that’s a clue. Discover that you are incredibly nervous in a social situation that has no potential for harm…that’s a clue. Realize that you are angry with someone who really doesn’t deserve it…there’s a clue.
Now ask yourself the powerful question – what’s the damage?
Every disproportionate reaction, every imagined slight and unnecessary anxiety come because in some way you perceive something, someone or some situation as a threat.
Understanding why you see it that way can help you to realize the underlying wounds in your soul, and then you can begin a journey of healing towards who you were meant to become.
It’s all waiting for you, if you will only just begin.
And if you aren’t beginning, maybe you need to ask yourself why not. ;)
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings