Personal Meditation No. 154

“You’re never going to get what you need if you’re constantly looking for external approval.”

Embrace the Within.

The fourteen days did a number on mental spaces and mindsets. Some folks found a healthy way forward by investing in themselves and making changes. Some folks found unhealthy ways to cope with the isolation. Those unhealthy mindsets are not just going to disappear anytime soon. Those fourteen days gave a long timeline for reinforcing unhealthy decisions and making them into habits. And habits are very easy to form and very difficult to break.

Isolation leads to socialization problems. And I know folks like to think that social media is a substitute for conversation BUT it just is not. Folks would be better off having conversations with themselves over the banter on social media that qualifies as conversation. No depth, no body language, no social cues, no learning . . . Social media might supplement your social life BUT it is no substitute for having conversations.

Once upon a simpler time, Sir Francis Bacon mused about the importance of knowledge and wrote that, “Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man”. Of Studies goes into detail about Bacon’s ideas about the purpose of studying and learning. Bacon considers all the pitfalls and triumphs of being singularly focused on one mode of learning and one outlet for sharing that learning. And I think most of us today could learn a little about being one-dimensional from that essay.

Some of us are so desperate from the isolation, from the fourteen days, from our unhealthy choices, to find something external just to plug into and recharge ourselves. BUT those external sources go away, they leave, they fade, their joy disappears, and we find ourselves left with just ourselves again. And that is probably the best place to start working and looking for meaning if the purpose is going to last.

I see folks every day looking to latch onto some one, some thing, some meaning that is more popular, more powerful, more important than themselves. And that life is just going to keep you searching until you die. Looking around for meaning and purpose outside of you, when that meaning, that purpose, that boon is inside you. That realization is as liberating as it is frightening. Ultimately relying on you and owning you and owning all that is you can set you on a wonderful journey once you allow yourself to get beyond the doubt and the noise.

I hope you’re working on making the healthy decisions because there are a lot of unhealthy ones out there today. Around half of Americans are obese today, alcohol consumption has risen, there are a number of prescription and other drug addictions on the rise, families are breaking apart, and people are doing worse mentally today despite the resources and strides forward in psychology. The fourteen days did not cause any of these problems BUT the fourteen days did not help.

We can place blame for why all these issues are growing and breaking us or we can start with owning our choices and moving forward. We can’t help anyone unless we first start helping ourselves. So, I hope you start healing yourself today. You are the only person you need to save BUT saving yourself can definitely provide the hope needed for others to save themselves. Be the light?

Have the day you want. I hope you find whatever you’re looking for.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyBodyMyChoice #MakeYourselfGreatAgain