How is your spirit today…is it strong?
Or are you feeling kinda empty?
If you feel like a car that is running on fumes, let’s talk.
Clearly, something needs to be done.
But what?
We all experience an empty tank many times in life.
Some of us experience one every day!
So, first of all, you are not alone.
Experiencing emptiness is part of being human.
It challenges us to find good healthy things to fill us,
rather than grasp for unhealthy things or actions
that will only harm us.
The Great Pretender
Facing our emptiness takes courage.
We would much rather pretend we are fine.
Some of us are great actors!
Academy Award material.
We fool our parents, our teachers,
our friends, our loved ones
into thinking we are just fine and dandy.
Here’s a song from the 50’s
that describes us well:
The Great Pretender
Ah, but we never entirely fool ourselves.
We know the truth of how we really are.
And, if we are deeply tuned to those around us,
they never entirely fool us either.
The truth shall set us free
Our society is beginning to recognize
just how essential it is
for us all to become more aware of each other.
One terrible event after another
is teaching us that the young men
who end up destroying themselves and others
were struggling inwardly for years.
But we missed it.
If they showed signs of their struggle, we missed them.
Those young men went unnoticed.
Invisible in their pain.
Or if they were noticed,
we taunted them for their weakness!
We laughed at those “losers.”
We mocked them.
And it came around to kill us.
So,
how do we change this terrible scenario
that repeats itself over and over?
The first step,
if we are going to become more aware of those around us,
is to become more aware of ourselves.
We must face our own emptiness
and our attempts to hide it.
The only reason we bully others who are weak
is to pretend that we are strong.
It is time to stop pretending.
Only when we face the truth
of our own empty spirit
and begin to fill it with life and goodness,
will we begin to have real strength.
We will begin to become secure enough
to have compassion, not disdain,
for those around us who are struggling.
We will begin to become strong enough
to start sharing our strong spirit with them,
so together we can build a better life.
So, you ask,
how can I begin to fill my spirit with life and goodness?
Let’s look at that question together!
What is something powerful we can do today to enrich our spirit?