To begin, I want to take a moment to properly quote Pope John Paul II – “It’s better to cry than be angry, because anger hurts others while tears flow silently through the soul and cleanses the heart.”
In the video linked here, I talk about this quote. I think the meaning did come through, but I could not quite remember how the quote went, so I wanted to take a moment to share it.
Our mind truly fascinates me because it can be so easily swayed. Truly what we put into it over a period of a few days can begin to shift it – positively or negatively – depending on what we are putting in. What is amazing about that gift is that the more you continue to pour in positive, uplifting thoughts the more you will begin to reflect positive, uplifting thoughts.
I have not figured it out yet, I think it’s our mind that really controls everything in our body, but I think we feel it deepest in our heart. This is why I chose to lead with the heart each week, then work on the mind.
So, for Learning to Love Day 3 in the activity for the mind linked here, I ask you to go back to a time where your heart was broken and work through that time. It seems counter-intuitive, I know.
Many times, though we do not allow ourselves to grieve a hurt or heartbreak. We combat it with taking on more work, pushing it out of our mind, turning to addictive substances or behaviors, or a host of other unhealthy behaviors. We tell ourselves we are good, no one is going to hurt us like that again and sometimes we grow bitter and angry. We do not know why or how we got this way.
What happens is that there are situations that we experience that trigger some of the same emotions that were associated with the initial hurt/heartbreak. Since, we have never completely grieved the initial hurt we continue to be triggered over and over again. We get caught in a cycle. Unfortunately, many times instead of sitting with it for a while, crying tears and cleansing out that hurt we continue to stuff it down and those unhealthy patterns continue to get worse until they are out of control. Until we are out of control.
Many times, you cannot combat the unhealthy behaviors on your own and need professional help. The activity of the mind this week is meant to help you identify a place in your life where you may still need to heal. It is meant to help you identify some of the physical characteristics associated with the heartbreak, so that as you seek professional guidance you will have more information to take with you and hopefully be able to identify the best plan of action for you faster.
As, you work through this activity give yourself plenty of time. You may need to take a few days to complete it. While you are working through the process, I encourage you to pray. Talk to God. Ask him to show you what you need to know about the situation. Ask him for his guidance in how to best combat it. If you choose to work through the situation with a professional, you may still find that elements of it will come up for you from time to time. This is especially, when I recommend that you sit with God and ask him to show you why it is coming up. You will be surprised at what you find at times. Sometimes he may show you how far you have come and sometimes He may show you that there is work to be done in another place. Listen. He kind of knows what he is talking about. 😉
Ya’ll have a beautiful evening!
All My Love,
Jen
To view On Fire For Life Day 2 click here.
To view more information about Get Strong with Jen! click here.
