Self-Help That Does Actually Help
We get to choose what works
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the plethora of self-help idols in the world today? I do.
When I recently read somewhere that Brene Brown is now BFFs with Father Richard Rohr, I simultaneously rolled my eyes and fell into a pit of anxiety and despair. But why? This is the union of two emotionally and spiritually wise individuals. What’s not good about that?
We don’t want to miss *anything* in case it is *something.*
The truth is, for those of us who are deep down in the thick of it? Who are in desperate want of a sage? We cannot fathom allowing one more voice into our heads. Really. There are already so many.
Brene Brown, Glennon Doyle, Elizabeth Gilbert, Anne Lamott, Jack Kornfield, Ram Dass, Deepak Chopra, Pema Chodron, exercise, meditation, journaling, gratitude, yoga, your job, your spouse, your kids. Jesus! As in: many of us started with Jesus. Or Abraham. Or Buddha. Or Allah. Shall I go on?
We want to keep up with all the wisdom. We want to keep up so we can find the answers everyone else seems to find. We don’t want to miss *anything* in case it is *something.*
*How* does any one human have the capacity to keep up? To read the books, listen to the TED Talks, watch the Netflix specials, subscribe to the podcasts, sign up for the e-newsletters, follow the TwInstaFaceTube pages?
The truth is no one does. We can jump on board the bandwagon for all the voices but will likely only be able to skim the surface of a few, gathering just enough for some short-lived inspiration. Then we’re on to the next thing.
The truth is, for those of us down in it — “it” being the work of living — we can only tune in to one voice at a time; truly listening, to know what that one voice has to say that we need to hear.
