Self-Unconsciousness

In order to make sure of the obvious this morning: ah, the leaves they are a changin'! Yes, I can whip out the obvious for you any day of the week. Well, at least on those days when I don't forget to check right in front of my face. Narcissism comes from the fable of Narcissus, who it seems saw his reflection in a pool and couldn't look away for thinking himself so beautiful. The overly self-conscious person on the other hand is too much aware of himself or herself, not through worshipping the image of the self but through worry or anxiety. Every pain is a pending heart attack or cancer or total physical breakdown. The self-conscious person cries out for help but in the wrong way, for the doctor will say nearly every time, "There is nothing really wrong with your body."

An interesting, but seemingly obvious cure is to turn the attention of the self-conscious person outside himself. See the other persons around, care about them, think well of them, and above all, love them. Of course, this is a cure very easy for me to type out. I only corrected a couple of typos in getting the sentence typed into the e-mail. Difficult is when I read the sentence and have to translate it from the Venusian typing that came out of my fingers. Putting the cure into practice, and practice it most certainly does require, is the more difficult proposition. We are not for the most part initially prepared to care for and love others above ourselves.

The nerves of the body report first to the brain in that body. I don't feel what pains you may have today, and you do not feel mine. We find it difficult to ignore our immediate pains first, and more difficult to empathize with the other person's pain. A hurting joint or digit is right there and the nerves faithfully report the data to us repeatedly. What can the other person feel that compares to this thing? We know intellectually that the other person may be hurting more, but there is no physical data connection to report the signals to our brain. Of course, if we did get a glimpse into the actual pain of another body, we might be overwhelmed by the sensation. All in all, turning outside of the self to become caring and loving of our fellow human is not so easy. We need the help of our Lord and Savior to become like Him in self-unconsciousness.

Jesus looked out from His pain on the cross to call down God's mercy on those who crucified Him. I rather suspect that I would be fully caught up in my own suffering at such a moment, and indeed have evidence from my experience to support that theory. How did our Lord do it? Something that overcame His body's natural inclination to self-consciousness. Probably that thing we must learn: Love.

Have a great day in Christ,
Bucky