Hey Everybody,
Living From the Super-consciousness
“I Still Want to Love My Friends”
I am finding myself in social situations lately that involve a lot of political talk. Here’s the thing for me, I’m aware that my friends need to talk about their fears and concerns as well as what they are for. However, when the talking becomes hateful, I need to distance myself because I can’t afford to hate.
My dilemma is that I still love my friends and I want to be supportive rather than self-righteous about “my needs,” but I have struggled on how to remain engaged in my relationships rather than shut down when the conversation goes to that ugly place. I don’t want to preach at my friends about how they “shouldn’t” be doing this and I don’t want to suppress their need to talk about their stuff. It’s when the talk goes from a “need to talk” to what I call chatter, as a way of distracting ourselves or “entertainment” that I want to run.
I have a friend who entertains a lot and her rule at her house is no political talk. It’s a relief to go there and play. Back when we were still entertaining, I sat the people who enjoyed this kind of talk together and the rest us at different parts of the table.
From what I can discern, those of us who need to talk about this political stuff most of the time aren’t talking to God very much of the time. (Yelling at God to do something is not and effective prayer, and it’s certainly not conscious communion with God.)
So what can I do when I’m with my friends who want to talk this talk beyond my emotional limit? I’ve thought of a couple of things:
- I can try to subtly change the subject within the subject ie: “If God is love itself, where do you suppose God is in this?”
- “You guys need to talk more about this, I’m going to excuse myself for a bit. How long do you think you’ll need.” (Refuse to argue around this. Remember, you love these people and you want to continue to love them and yourself.)
- I’m open to other suggestions as long as none of them are shaming or self-righteousness.
So that’s my alternative for today. It offers freedom for everyone and that includes me. Now there is no cause for guilt or shame on anyone’s part and love can prevail. It’s a big relief to realize that my love for both my friends and myself is more important than making them stop talking for my comfort level.
Let’s affirm together, “The Superconscious Mind is awake in me now!”
In Love,
Rev. Shawn