Thought for the Week

Timothy D. Stein, MFT, CSAT

November 21, 2016

“The world is perfect.  It’s a mess.  It has always been a mess… Our job is to straighten out our own lives.” –Joseph Campbell

It may feel good to point fingers elsewhere for the chaos and problems around us.  We may feel justified judging the actions and choices of others.  We may feel morally superior belittling the beliefs of others.  We may feel comforted holding onto our own perspective of “common sense.”  However, it is helpful to remember that, like Pigpen from Snoopy (the boy who is perpetually dirty), we see the world filtered through our own haze. The energy we expend pointing out the mess in the world around us does little good until we have “straightened out our own lives.” When we take a scrub brush to ourselves first, we can then see and influence (not fix) the world around us more effectively.

When have I spent my energy trying to “fix the mess” around me?  When have I spent my energy “straightening out my own life?”  What gifts await me as I clarify my priorities; to first straighten out my life and then look at the environment around me?