Photo by Paul Bica: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
The Spirit of Defeatism
I was having a discussion with an old friend that I hadn’t seen for years. When I asked her how she was, I saw her pause and then tear up. She told me that it had been a terrible time, for her young nephew had just committed suicide. As I watched her, I wanted to lift her up and tell her everything would be OK, but that was not possible. Suicide is so final on this side of the veil. They are gone and it shouldn’t have happened.
There is a spirit of defeatism sweeping across all aspects of this earth life. It tells us a big lie that we can never change; life will never change, and it will always be terrible. It tells us there is no hope for us, or for our situation. There is something sinister about that lie. It wants us to fail.
Hope vs. Tunneling in!
People do have terrible situations, and they aren’t defeated by them. Why? It is called HOPE! Where there is life, there is hope. Hope for ourselves; hope for others. Hope can’t be seen. Hope can’t be bought. There is no store to go to buy hope. Hope though can be shared. We can be bearers of hope!
To those who are giving up, don’t tunnel in. You know what I mean. This is when you go deep into your own head and only see your own thoughts. Our thoughts can get on a pattern even though the pattern is inaccurate. All we can see is our own mistakes. We see all the faults of life. Remember, though, we are looking through that pattern of thinking.
Stop! Get up! Look around, past yourself, and you will see others that you can lift up. In the process of lifting them up, you will lift yourself up. Un-tunnel your head! Look up! Put your hand in the one who loves you no matter what; no matter what you have done. No matter where you have been.
I have been there!
Many years ago, when I was a young adult, I could see nothing in my future. I could see nothing in myself. I had no talents and not much going on for myself. I hid in the basement and would sit for hours looking at nothing. I was in trouble. I had a job at the same orphanage that I had been adopted from, and one day while at work in the kitchen where I was taking kids to lunch, a heavy set cook came up to me and said, “You need to get out of here! You need to get a hold of life! I am headed to Reno for a job. Come with me and start looking at life.” I did just that. I had a small bag, a box of books and we headed out.
Action was what created the change, and a lady who had a sense that she was looking at a disaster. I was a disaster, but I got moving. By moving, it stopped the tunneling in. I had to stand up and get involved. It was the best move and probably saved my life. Was it hard? Absolutely. Not much went right for quite a while, but it broke the hold of hopelessness.
Had to get Counseling!
Get counseling or going to self help groups is the next step. There are plenty of organizations that have wonderful helps for us. The twelve steps of AA are huge in any one’s life. Churches and other organizations can give help. We are not alone. All we have to do is act.
Action is key!
Ignore the spirit upon the land of defeatism. Ignore the tunnel need. It is a way that we punish ourselves. Again, let’s look up, take a deep breath and go out the door. Take a walk, go someplace and volunteer. Take action.
So much has changed!
Since, then I cannot tell you of the times that I have thought about that girl so long ago. It doesn’t seem possible that it was me, but it was. Am I different now? Absolutely! There were good times and bad times, but the learning and experiences of life became a good mixture. We are to learn and grow. We fall down, but we get up. We reach out and sometimes we connect and sometimes not. The point is that we keep going. I am so glad for a cook out of nowhere who rescued me. Go rescue other people. There are plenty out there. You would be surprised at what will grow within you. I know I was.
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