In self exploration, you can either look at yourself or feel yourself.
Please discuss. How does this play out in life?
I’ll start us out. When looking at a societal problem—for example, the Black Lives Matter movement and the issue of social injustice—we can try to understand it from the outside or from the inside. For those of us who have not experienced this level of prejudice personally, outside observation may involve getting the facts, analyzing them, and positing possible solutions. We want to fix the problem. If we allow ourselves to become more intimate with racial prejudice—by listening to the stories of individuals affected and dialoguing and feeling along with them—we will, to some degree, feel how racial prejudice affects people. We will then want to heal the problem. The difference is one of approach, whether we seek to mechanically excise the sickness or more holistically transform the conditions which made it possible, practicality versus benevolence.
Today I woke up in an atypical and inexplicable funk. There is no immediate reason for my mood. I know it will require investigation. Today’s message, courtesy of Beauregard the beloved black cat who taught me animal communication, reminds me that as I explore my inner workings to resolve my unaccounted feelings, I should feel rather than look, heal rather than fix. Gently permitting myself to experience the emotional discomfort fully, I can address it with compassion and understanding, rather than than simply trying to suppress or make it go away. I can deal with myself kindly.
How about you? Do you engage in self exploration, and if so, what is your approach?
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