Sometimes I find myself wishing I could “cure” people. Sometimes I wish I could cure myself. Then I remember two things: (1) it’s not my job to fix you, it’s yours and (2) “curing” someone in many cases would mean robbing them of their unique humanness.
As human beings we have the ability, the blessing and the curse, of feeling many things with varying levels of intensity. However, many of us prefer to hover somewhere between pretty happy and ecstatic. Honestly, that’s my preferred zone too. As a therapist, I am blessed to have access to the stories of many people. I am allowed to share a sacred place where people are real and raw, sometimes for the first time in their lives. The overarching theme of the majority of my initial conversations with people is this: I am having these feelings and I don’t think I should be feeling these feelings. Therefore, there must be something wrong with me.
Hmmmm….except there is probably a reason you are having those feelings and your brain is responding to the situation, person, or stimulus just as a human brain was designed to respond. This doesn’t mean the response is good, bad, right or wrong or even healthy. But it for sure just IS.
Welcome to the human condition.
Most people aren’t crazy, they are just human. Many of us need to learn how to manage our human experience in healthier, constructive ways that promote growth and personal evolution. When we gain a deeper understanding of our individual sum total of experience and our subjective development thus far in our journey through life we can begin to process the destructive memories and beliefs that limit us and hold us back. By utilizing our brain’s neuroplacity and activating our innate capacity to heal we increase and strengthen positive, growth inspiring beliefs and behaviors. You cannot change your story but you can change your reaction and response to it. You can manage and even create mastery over parts of it. You, with all the power of your (sometimes) overwhelming humanness , can write a better ending.