Sage Advice From Lucy
In a classic “Peanuts” comic strip, Charlie Brown goes to Lucy for psychiatric help. He says, “What can you do when you don’t fit in? What can you do when life seems to be passing you by?” Lucy leads Charlie away from her booth and says, “Follow me. I want to show you something. See the horizon over there? See how big this world is? See how much room there is for everybody? Have you ever seen any other worlds?” Charlie replies meekly, “No.” She continues, “As far as you know, this is the only world there is…Right?” Even more meekly, Charlie says, “Right.” Lucy presses on, “There are no other worlds for you to live in…Right?” Charlie admits, “Right.” “You were born to live in this world… Right?” “Right,” says Charlie. Lucy then explodes, “Well, live in it then! Five cents, please.” While we may disagree with Lucy’s counseling technique, we recognize she is on to something. We need to make the most of our lives and really live.
Charlie Brown is asking two very fundamental questions. In other words, “Why am I here?” and “What is the purpose of my life?” In one study, 3000 people were asked those two questions. 94% responded with “I don’t know!”
According to Gallup polling sponsored by the United Nations, North Americans have seen a significant drop in happiness from 2005 to the present. So why is everyone so unhappy? The authors of the report attribute our unhappiness to lack of institutional trust, income inequality, obesity, the opioid epidemic and a “depression epidemic.” Are these really the causes of unhappiness or are they symptoms of a more serious malignant cancer?
Thousands of hours of counselling have led me to the conclusion that misplaced fear robs us of peace, purpose, and productivity. It leaves us in the doldrums with “just enough to get by.”
The Path of Misplaced Fear
Timidity — I view my present circumstances through the lens of past failure. There is a distracting nervousness that says, “It could happen again!” There is an excellent lie detector that offsets timidity. Start from childhood and write all the events of success: tests you passed, skills you developed, friendships you developed, and the list goes on. Do the exercise and like many patients, you will be amazed at how successful you are.
Fainthearted — Our outcomes in the future are predicated by our present ability. That tells me you have suffered brain damage and have lost the capacity to learn. Our future is not capped by the ability that got us to the present, it is stalled by our lack of will to keep learning.
Anxiety/Worry — We allow our minds to calculate possible outcomes. Worry/anxiety is not founded on objective empirical evidence, it rests on the quicksand of subjective, emotionally induced possibilities. Looking at worry through the lens of faith, worry dethrones God and makes me king and at the same time it makes me king and God incompetent.
Panic — Our will is paralyzed, and we are enveloped with a cloud of hopelessness. We become victims of the relentless wheel of fate. We see ourselves as incapable of making a difference. We are simply a small cog in the machine of fate.
Terror — The final disaster is already determined. We might as well “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” We search out the anesthetics of life to dull the pain of our hopelessness.
My yesterday is filled with “if only” and my tomorrow with “what if!” When those two dominate, my today is clouded with paralysis of the will, despair, and fear.
Let me take you down another path. It has brought me great freedom.
Trust — View your circumstance through the lens of your Creator. He is greater than any circumstance you could possibly face.
Rest/Peace — Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with everything you’ve got but take your hands off the controls. We do whatever we have committed ourselves to do but we leave the outcome in the hands of our Creator. He alone can make all things work together for good.
Commit to the Law of Love
“Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
To all the people you can
For as long as you can.”
( John Wesley)
Keep climbing and I’ll see you at the top.
Duane Harder
