Simply being human we must face a long list of decisions each and every day, the act of ‘making up one’s mind’ is at the heart of how we sort out what benefit if any, we get from making our preferred choices. So many things are thrown at us along the way and no one wants to get any of it wrong. So, why does so much doubt creep into our decision-making? There’s all the obvious stuff, our daily responsibilities will always crop up, the accumulating bills and diminishing finances, stressful working conditions, worries over health or friendships and it’s easy to slide into feeling overwhelmed.
The curse of modern life is going around in circles and getting nowhere. We’re not only overwhelmed by the pressure of daily living but increasingly crushed by too much information, and our natural instincts become dulled. We’ve gotten out of the habit of digging into what’s true for us. When all you read or watch is telling you what you should be eating, what you should be wearing and how your life needs to be lived to succeed then beware!..it’s time to take care of where your compass is set, for the direction could be misguided, especially if you wish to find the distant shore of happiness.
Doubt is when you become caught up in not listening to your instincts and relying on someone else’s opinion of what’s true. No wonder people can get caught up in doubting themselves. The result is to have trouble seeing what possibilities exist and opaqueness as to what other options could be available in your life. Doors get closed and it’s easy to start feeling alone and messed up.
We can become less reactive to the world if we can take time out from all this thinking, the constant “why, why why” is what keeps us moving in circles and detached from the things we are actually experiencing right now. During turbulent times staying steady is important not only for our mental health but for the ability to make informed sensible decisions based on situational awareness.
Main Photo N Suma / unsplash / above Pixelsort
So, a stable emotional life becomes important if we want to settle. Some say that we need to tap into our natural intelligence to help guide us in making more reliable decisions but in order to do that, we must first begin to develop our critical thinking, a more conscious approach to life, otherwise who knows where our thoughts will lead us. We don’t want to land in the shadows.
Where then do you place your trust when darkness comes, and, if you happen to fall on hard times who/what do you put your faith in? We seem to be walking around in a daze, ready to place our faith in things that don’t support us at all, policies we have no connection to, decisions made that are completely foreign to our lives and wars that make no sense to anyone, who the hell is in charge?
How long can we continue to leave ourselves in a groundless, anxious and self-absorbed state and expect to live meaningful lives, it’s bound to crash sooner or later and this kind of hopelessness is everywhere in modern life. It’s time we rely more on our natural intelligence. Most of us know when to take flight and many know when to stand and fight but if we’re being trained to be indifferent to the horrible stuff going on around us then this ‘freezing up’ can only lead to depression and a deep lack of purpose.
Having faith in something more than just me and mine allows us to enter a soft resting place. It allows us the courage to openly question the experiences we are having and hopefully, to see through the veil covering our eyes. There are many kinds of faith but genuine faith does not require us to put on blinders and believe whatever we are told. The patriotic faith is strong, faith in a flag, faith in war, faith in someone else’s stories but this kind of faith will never serve us very well, it can only divide us further. Real faith is an open question that includes all of us, it’s learning to stay open by focusing on something bigger than just me and mine, for only then can we be ready to face the uncertainty and the corruption of ideas that are currently making us freeze up.
It’s time we stop holding onto views that are getting us all into trouble. This modern world has made us so full of ourselves that there isn’t any room left to respect your neighbours or anyone else for that matter. We’re moving into a dangerous phase where there’s little room left for goodness. Young or old, retired or still working what matters most is whether we are all working together towards building a better world.
