Bad Neighborhood

“My mind is a neighborhood I try not to go into alone.”

― Anne Lamott

_______________________

we are what we think

we see, based on what we think

we interpret life, through the filter

of those values, and beliefs

healthy or not

that somehow are part of our self

both conscious and un-conscious

I am not even going to think about

the complexity of the mind

the soul

the body

and how those all go together

I only know they are inter-related

tightly bound

and what happens in one “realm” profoundly impacts the others

I know that a troubled soul leads to a troubled mind

a horrible sense, at times, of dis-ease

I know that what is going on in soul and mind is carried in the body

I know that a “pain” in any part of my system is an indicator

that the entire “system” needs attention

what makes it so tricky are those well ingrained thoughts

those thoughts that are so familiar, so frequent,

we don’t even notice them

they roll through our minds unchallenged

at the level of sub-conscious (because we simply ignore them)

or un-conscious (at times)

but they run our lives

we interpret everything we see

everything that is said to us

everything that happens

according to these thoughts, and don’t even know it

some of those thoughts are good

there are people who wander around saying to themselves

I can do this

People like me

I am valued and valuable

But some of those thoughts are like a spiritual acid

which erode us

I am not enough

Not matter what I do it is not good enough

People like me for what I can accomplish, but they don’t like me

I am not liked, or valued

I am alone, and will always be alone

such thoughts make our minds

pretty dangerous places

bad neighborhoods

at least at times

and thus we need times of silence

and meditation

prayer

we need time to listen to ourselves

and what we say to ourselves

what thought in my mind caused me to be anxious?

to feel rejected?

to feel worthless?

negative thoughts,

dysfunctional ones, the ones that push us out of balance

and into dark places,

should never be allowed to wander the streets of our mind

unchallenged

and this time of listening and challenging

should never be done alone

it should be done

with the Sacred One

the Spirit within

guiding , comforting, empowering

we should always walk through those dark streets

with the One who knows us

and loves us

better than we know and love ourselves

and whose presence

is love

and healing