Mentally "Green"

 If You Are What You Say You Are... then: Have no Fear.

The closing lyric of a Lupe Fiasco (Featuring Matthew Santos) song struck me as I was driving home from work one day last week. If you are what you say you are, then have no fear? This is an interesting concept, and both somewhat unrealistic, while fundamentally true. I am thankful for diverse creativity.

People's underlying insecurities are often the cause of interpersonal conflict, according to most psychology researchers and sometimes, the behaviours we find ourselves repeating - with negative consequences - are the things we are using to hide aspects of ourselves that we would prefer people not see, or know about. The negative consequences are usually because it isn't as easy to hide as we would like to believe, and we are insecure because we are injured, somehow wounded by the "thing". Even if you manage to mask the actual source of your insecurity, most people can tell when something about a person just doesn't ring true.

This is what I got from those words, and liked: there is nothing to be afraid of if you are being genuine - there  is no risk of being found out, because you've already said exactly who you are. Now the difficult thing about that is this: who is that, exactly? I embrace the idea that anyone can be seriously asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It is life giving to me to think that there is always more to learn, to grow into, to achieve, to see, and to discover that you love. The truth of it is though, it is harder to be in a position to do this when you haven't even figured out the first thing about yourself, and who that is.

Source

As I was reading through some current event websites, the idea of being "mentally green" came to me. Sustainable development is a hot topic these days with the prospect of energy costs being too high, or energy sources diminishing and being harmful to boot. As I reflected on how many people don't know who they truly are, and how much this can hurt personal and professional relationships, I began thinking about what it would mean to have sustainable development of mind. Just like the world is in a panic about whether we will be able to maintain the levels of energy we expend today, if we continue using the same sources, and whether our world will last for our children if we continue using these sources of power, I wonder if people should look at themselves and ask the same thing.

Someone discovered that while the entire oil industry is a lucrative and realistic source of energy right now, it could be killing our planet. The world has been in various layers of hype ever since - reduce, reuse, recycle! Go Green! If our source of energy is diminished, then how can we develop? A gas-fuelled car with an empty tank is of very little use. Similarly, if a person is using great energy to prove that they are something that they are not, how long can that be maintained? My theory is that there is sustainable human energy, and mental energy that is finite.

I believe that any mental illness is an example of broken down development. Somewhere along the line, the individual has devoted a majority of their energy in an area that keeps them in a loop, rather than helping them to move forward. It is any instance where much energy is being expended, but the result puts the person at risk of damage, or the energy itself is harmful to the individual. It is not sustainable. Consider this: have you ever found yourself sabotaging a relationship you were in? Have you ever found yourself repeatedly having the same problem, and you could note that it was a pattern, but you couldn't seem to stop? To me, that's the hole in your ozone layer, and we all have one (or a few).

The idea is to know more about the person, in order to be who we say we are. Geologists, engineers and physicists work day and night to learn more about matter, about the properties of the world that contains us so that they might find a way to maintain the development that we all demand, while being able to sustain the natural environment. I think people need to do the same thing. Learn about yourself; your vulnerabilities, the things that damage you (behaviour, relationships, people or conversations) and go green! Where you would have spent your energy defending a criticism, look at it instead - is it true? Can you work on it? Can you come to terms with it? Is it false? Can you let it go? Where you see flaws in yourself, can you find sustainable energy sources to deal with them?

My challenge this week is on being mentally green. I am going to be looking for sustainable development of mind. I am looking to utilise an energy source that I can keep holding on to, that is renewable, safe, efficient and sufficient to power me through my development. I can already identify some of my own green energy sources: my Faith is clearly my leading, green, renewable resource. My belief in an infinite, omniscient God settles my restless, nihilistic self. Another green energy source of mine: nature - have you ever seen anything more fascinating in your whole life? On evenings as I drive home, I take the more traffic laden route, because the highway is parallel to the ocean on one side, and mountains on the other. This gives me life. In a few years, I plan a trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro; this excites me endlessly and is something that propels me forward.

What is your Mentally Green energy source?