Thanks to a good therapist, the Sedona Method (www.sedona.com) but principally a loving girlfriend I am presently becoming aware of my arrogance. Defined by but not limited to: Above Reproach, Aloof, Arrogant, Bigoted, Boastful, Bored, Clever, Closed, Complacent, Conceited, Contemptuous, Cool, Critical, Disdain, Dogmatic, False Dignitity, False Humility, False Virtue, Gloating, Haughty, Holier than thou, Hypocritical, Icy, Isolated, Judgemental, Know-it-all, Narrow-minded, Never wrong, Opinionated, Overbearing, Patronizing, Pious, Prejudiced, Presumptuous, Righteous, Rigid, Self-absorbed, Self-satisfied, Selfish, Smug, Snobbish, Special, Spoiled, Stoic, Stubborn, Stuck-up, Superior, Uncompromising, Unfeeling, Unforgiving, Unyielding, Vain. Phew!!! ;o).
Painful but full of hope.
The Wasteland... is any world in which... force not love, indoctrination, not education, authority, not experience, prevail in the ordering of lives, and where myths and rites enforced and received are consequently unrelated to the actual inward realizations, needs, and potentialities of those upon whom they are impressed. -- Joseph Campbell, The Masks of God: Creative Mythology
I’d always likened it to institutional issues – the theology of church, education policies etc. – but isn’t it possible for it to have a more personal meaning? While I push the issue onto the institutional I keep it away from the spheres of my own responsibility but as I allow myself to see myself as arrogant I can see how I’ve banished my Important Others into my wasteland at various times over various issues. I’ve been so defended that I have slipped into an unyielding and uncompromising arrogance.
But herein lies the Gospel of the Wasteland. Instead of forcing, I can allow love and weakness to prevail, instead of demanding and trying to indoctrinate I can openly share my perspective to educate and instead of demanding conformance of behaviour to my authority I can allow the Other to experience who I am resulting in the shared life of the Us being ordered according to the needs of the Me, the You and the Us.
2 comments:
I doubt you're as oriented toward all of those negative traits as you think. People who are arrogant, aloof, etc., usually don't see themselves as such. And if they do, they certainly don't admit it.
LOL
Do you think so? I think I can demonstrate such a mixture of things that come out in different times and places. I am able to probably exhibit say 90% of those traits at some point though I am very careful about where they come out and they tend to be very very subtle, well within the ability of my denial mechanisms to cope with. *grin*.
So what would a person have to do to cure you of your doubt? ;oP
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