Good afternoon, everyone! It's a wonderful day outside, raining a little here and there for which I thank the Lord, and as always, it's fairly quiet.
So, I want to talk a little about being exposed to your faults, things you've done wrong, things that, perhaps, you might not realize were wrong, things you could have done better. These are some of the things I've been exposed to over the past week, and I'm both glad and despondent for it. I'll explain.
I've learned through a friend how black and white I can be over issues when I'm explaining them. I'm very logical and systematic in my approach to things, something I deal with best but others, perhaps, don't. Because of this, it's difficult for me to empathise with others. My friends have told me it's difficult for them as well, but the difficult thing for me is trying to think about a situation logically that I can't apply logic to. People.
Perhaps it's a little far out there to say you can't apply logic to people. You can, but when you're dealing with emotion, logic can't always be used. Also, when you're speaking with someone, you can't apply something in your life that's helped you, then assume it will work for them or it's what they need without examining their own situation. This was something I learned yesterday after talking to the same friend who told me about my black and white approach and apologizing to him for something I'd said Friday morning. What I said was extremely selfish and, I could probably safely say it was self centered, since I wasn't thinking about him when I said what I did. My intention was to help him, and at the moment, I thought that I could do so by bringing a suggestion and idea that had worked for me to him. The arrogance and cruelty of my own statement and centered nature of my own thoughts was something I didn't like to be exposed to at all, but I knew to be true.
I almost ended up no longer being associated with this friend and I've thought about what I did wrong throughout the night last night, along with parts of the day today. First, focusing on my own thoughts and life was unwise, and through my own statement and thoughts, trying to apply that to him was the wrong thing to do. I advise people against that. Second, before offering him any advice in an attempt to be helpful, perhaps it would have been better to examine his situation more deeply first.
Because of this situation, I thought about giving up on giving advice to people and simply taking things in. I wouldn't learn if I did that, though, and I'd be letting the Devil win. It's my choice, of course, but I know God is with me. He's proven it when I obey, and proven it when I disobey. I'll probably fail in the future due to my own imperfect and sinful nature, but if I let that stop me, where would I end up in the future? Probably not doing much of anything. We all fail. The best thing we can do is pray, learn, apply what we've learned, then continue on. Why pray? Simply, I believe we need the help of God to get the most of our lives and the lessons we've learned.
On a lighter note, there's been some thunder as I've been composing this journal entry and some rain as I've spell checked it. I like it quite a bit! There hasn't been much, but I enjoy it all the same. I'll enjoy this cool, rainy weather while it's here and want it back when the hot, dry weather of summer comes.
With all that, enjoy your days and don't give up!