When the shadows become a reality

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. Charles Spurgeon

The Shadows

Do you ever sit and watch news reports for hours on end? Like a vinyl record you watch the tragedy unfold over and over again. Perhaps it’s just me, another of my personality nuances, I often feel drawn to it like a moth to flame; all the while the distinct voice at the back of my head says this can’t be good for you!

So we all pretty much live in different parts of the world but we are unified by one commonality; we can’t ignore the horrible things that surround us. Whether it’s sickness or death; news of terror and war and of course our own personal disappointments in life; most human beings no matter their positive temperaments are surrounded by the ugly stuff in life.

Disillusionment

In those moments, its so easy for cynicism to become our default world view. Disillusionment  is like a poison that sneaks in when we least expect it. Like the unwelcome visitor, we inadvertently open the door to it, unaware of what its entrance will bring to our lives.

I’ve decided to write about this because I’ve seen it in myself and those around me. Whether you choose to avoid the negative aspects of life by thinking happy thoughts all the time; the ugly side of life hits us all in the face at one time or another. In those moments we often take time to grieve our disappointments and savour the sadness. That in itself is not the problem.

The problem arises when we let those dark shadows cloud our world view. When because of the tragedy that surrounds life we start to see the world through a dark lens.

The longer we savour the miserable shadows, the more miserable we become. Cs Lewis hypothesised:

“Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery’s shadow or reflection: the fact that you don’t merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. I not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.”

What can we do?

This is not an article about avoiding life by positive thinking. Rather, everything has it’s time and place. Let’s mourn the state of our World when we need to; but let’s also Rejoice in the beauty that surrounds us when we can. That way we can hopefully close the door on disillusion and the dark shadows it brings.

Whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, and whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. Philippians 4:8

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit drains one’s strength.Proverbs 17:22