rules

The things we do to protect us from life. I’m sure the first rule we set up was to protect ourselves. Protection from being violated. We built a wall to be able to control everything that happens to us. To some point this is good. It is good to not accept having other people put you down. But what if we interpret everything other people do or say as being hostile or an insult? We have to build higher walls and make stricter rules. Each rule is an opportunity lost. If I instead try to meet my fellow creature with an open mind and listen to what he/she has to say, without demanding that this person follow my set of rules, I could gain a broader perspective of things I never even thought about. I’m at a state where I try to live with this awareness. I have been going through life like a steamroller. Protecting myself from being hurt, protecting myself from what I thought was other peoples judgements. When in fact it’s my own judgement that is heavy to bear. All people out there with another point of view, other frames of references or just another way of expressing themselves: I don’t want to keep them out. Tear down the walls and start living life. Give and take: forget the rules. Or as we say in business: think out of the box.

The art of projection is enigmatic! No matter what psychology-school you read: they talk about projection. There are a few different vocabularies for it, but it means the same. The “bad” attributes we have – consciously or not – we see in other people. It has helped me to get a happier outlook on life, by not taking in everything people say as being meant for me. Rather it is saying something about them. It is truly a work in progress and I have to actively think about this. It also makes me think of why I say the things I do. Why am I mean or put other people down? I can not change anyone else, but I can change how I perceive what people say to me. Perception is reality, and I prefer being at peace than being hurt.