Meeting the Problems of Life · Step One · Acknowledgement
⁘ “We need to face our problems at some point. The veils of denial can't stay up forever. Holding on to hopes and illusions — until it's all too unbearable. Acknowledging the problem present, start dealing with "what is". Then into the blame games. "It was all your fault, my fault, their fault." Yet we co-create our problems — and must each own up our due portions. All of this, so complicated when we lack self-awareness and will to acknowledge our shortcomings.”
Life is famously messy and full of conflicts,
and at some point we need to get it all sorted out.
We typically keep up the veils of denial
for as long as possible.
Holding on to hopes, painting illusions,
to a point where it all becomes
too unbearable, unsustainable.
Where the only option is acknowledging,
okay, we have a problem here,
and we need to start dealing with "what is".
Then begins the blame game,
assigning responsibility.
"It was all your fault, it was all my fault,
or the fault of a third party."
While the reality is that no individual is
responsible for the fullness of the macro-narrative.
We have co-created our problems.
Each of us owning up our
big and little mistakes down the road,
that compounded into this shared problem of ours.
"You could have, we should have,
it should have", this and that.
That's all in the past.
It won't change.
And there's no benefit whatsoever
in playing the inquisitor.
We typically do that to shift
the blame from our own shoulders.
All of that, so very complicated
when people lack self-awareness and
willingness to acknowledge their own shortcomings.
Where it's not really as much
a matter of what actually went down.
It's more a matter of how it reflects on me.
And while we might hope for
clear resolutions for all things,
sometimes the veils are so thick,
you can only agree to disagree, and move on.
But move on we must, into reality,
in acceptance of "what is",
rather than what we hoped it would be.