New Narrative

Meeting with a friend who struggles with addictions today. I've dealt with people with addictions/addictive behavior as a health professional for the last 25 years, seeing the toll it takes on their bodies and their relationships. Walking with this new friend, however, is a walk as a spiritual guide and friend. In this capacity, my role is quite different and equally (if not more) challenging. My friend was discussing how tough some days are versus others. Some days "the committee in my head" just won't leave me alone, he said. Case-in-point, yesterday the weather was gorgeous here in the greater Washington, DC, area yet my friend couldn't enjoy it. In fact, said friend spent the whole day really angry - angry at the whole world and at G-d. It seems that there are always those nagging thoughts and story lines (narratives) in our lives. Those things that we regret doing, feel guilty about, or worse - those that generate a feeling of shame. Shame is worse than guilt from the perspective of healing because when we're ashamed we feel that we are "bad", rather than with guilt that the choice we made was "bad". Once we feel we are "bad" then we can really get down in a hole of negativity that can be very hard to crawl out of. A lot of time was spent this morning just hearing my friend acknowledge those feelings and the presence of the negative narrative. We spent time talking about how to change said narrative to a more positive one. How to build in to life a daily dose of a new and different narrative that calls us "beloved" and says that we are good, very good in the eyes of the Creator. It takes time and support to build a new story, however. Isn't it easier to believe the negative? Think about the Apostle Paul who wrote about the "thorn" that he asked G-d to remove. We all struggle with one or more "thorns", don't we?! My thorns tend to take the form of temptations or behaviors that tell me to do things that I know aren't in my best interest. When I'm fully connected and reinforced with prayer and worship, these voices can't make headway. When I'm at times of stress and spiritual fatigue, the "narrator" can convince me that "it's no big deal, just do it this once, who will know". It's what my friend was saying about the narrative yesterday. This week, check your narrative. Think about the thorn or thorns in your life. What is it you do to combat the negative narrative? How do you employ spiritual resources and teachings to overcome the days where everything seems like a struggle? During this season of Lent, we are once again called to confront the narratives of imperialism and power versus G-d's love and humility. Important work to help us create a positive and powerful narrative to guide us through our lives. Peace for the journey, Dan