Most of us have two images of ourselves, the one on the inside that only we see and the one that we project on the outside for others to see. The difference between these two images produces stress within us; the greater the degree of difference the greater the degree of stress.
Some of the outer projections that we concern ourselves with might focus on how we appear to our fellow employees, the boss, our customers, the opposite sex, our family, our neighbors, or those we socialize with.
Various self-help courses and support groups that have as an objective the improvement of our outer image only make matters worse. They increase the distance between what we think of ourselves and what we are trying to project. The preoccupation with how we look on the outside causes great stress on the inside,
This same dichotomy of images appears on the national level as well. The Western world focuses on the outside, on gross domestic product and the acquisition of things. Society bombards itself with motivations to buy a better car, more stylish clothes, more expensive vacations, higher paying jobs, more profitable investments, and more ornate homes as part of efforts to become “somebody.” That “somebody” is the image that we try to project.
Projecting one image and living a different image causes anxiety and stress on a national level just as it does on the individual level. In essence we are living a lie. Living a lie causes great pressure on the mind and psyche because it involves acting on a continuous basis and also makes us unduly sensitive to the comments and evaluations of others.
While the Western world gives the image of strength on the outside it is crumbling on the inside. The World Health Organization announced that the number one health issue of England, the United States and Canada is mental illness. The National Institute for Mental Illness estimates that at any given time 25% of Americans suffer from mental issues. The number one debilitating illness of the American woman and European woman is depression.
Just as individuals suffer from focusing on the outside, nations and cultures do so as well. All of Western society and all nations that have accepted the Western culture suffer from stress and the mental, physical, and spiritual effects resulting there from.
Another way to live consists of focusing on the inside. When I lived in Harlem one of the songs sung in the black churches was titled “Working on the inside, changing on the outside.” That song expresses a great spiritual truth. Who we are on the inside governs what we express on the outside. Gandhi said, “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” When we change ourselves we change what we express and the responses of others as they react to what we express. That’s how we can change the world.
A loving mother who devotes herself to her family and who constantly pours out nurturing love changes the world. She fills her environment with peace and calm. She has an aura of love about her that fills the home. Her children reflect this environment in their joy, happiness, and contentment; anxiety, tension, and anger do not reside in them. The man who provides the safe and secure environment and means for his wife to function in enables her to manifest her unconditional love.
There is no greater contribution that can be given to humankind than the raising of well-balanced, caring, and obedient children. They will grow up with an attitude of giving rather than taking and of sharing rather than owning. What a child learns when he is young he will remember all his life. The place for good learning is a happy home and that can only come about through the dedication of a caring mother and father.
The finest universities and the most brilliant professors cannot do for this world what a stable and loving home environment can do. Long after this era of material information and technology passes, loving and caring homes will remain. They will prosper as the decline of materialism accelerates.
It’s time that we live outside of the materially focused and government dominated environment and start living our lives simply and lovingly. It’s time to get rid of the individual anxiety and national angst produced by the environment of an uncaring and selfish society.
Let not forget that this world was designed by a great power. That power sent prophets throughout the world since the beginning of human existence to teach us how to live in this world. Problems ensue when we start to live outside of these teachings.
Our present society has made a God of materialism. It has created a multitude of material edifices that it worships. The power that created this world in the snapping of his fingers can bring down the works that man labored years, decades, and centuries to create. In the snapping of his fingers he brings about earthquakes, floods, and storms that in moments destroy and wash away dams, bridges, tunnels, buildings and all the other edifices of material accomplishment and worship.
As this year begins we are witnessing the accelerating destruction of, and the discontent with, the world that man has built. Every continent witnesses continuing demonstrations of discontent by people of various races, religions, and ethnicities. We know that something is wrong but we don’t know what it is yet. Eventually circumstance will force us to recognize the balance of nature, the Yin and Yang of existence, and the divine purpose of propagating and preserving the species while on our spiritual journey.
We are receiving help from our creator as with increasing frequency he brings down the works of man and the power of the mighty. The meek shall inherent the earth is a great spiritual truism. They always do. Let us be meek and work on the person within. The more that person develops the greater the good he will be able to accomplish in this world. Let’s get rid of the false person on the outside and let the true person on the inside reflect our goodness.
My thoughts are with you all as we enter this year of challenge and growth. Let’s live simply, share what we have, love God and be kind to all. That will produce inner peace along with a great image.
E.G.
