Don’t bother pondering the subconscious
It’s not what you think
This funny poem is a reminder that much of what is life is not directly accessible by us. Most of what goes on in our bodies is outside of our consciousness and cannot be put under direct control of our will. This is a good thing! Otherwise, we would have to spend all of our time trying to digest our food along with a million other bodily processes that happen without the benefit of our puny consciousnesses. Further, even the state of our mind is largely outside the realm of consciousness. It takes a lifetime of attention and reflection to get a decent grasp on our own mind , and how it is affected by our own emotions and external conditions and situations. Western civilization is obsessed with control. The idea that we are not in control of all the things let alone most of the things in our life can be maddening for many people. Reflecting on this lack of control is not an exercise in futility, but gets to the heart of wisdom, that there are larger forces at work in our lives, and even in our life force or spirit itself. Learning to recognize those areas of our life that we don’t have any control over is just as important as recognizing those areas of our life that we do have control over. Courage applied to beating your head against the wall is foolishness. Not being grateful for all the good things in our life that we didn’t bring about, well, seems ungrateful. We stand on the shoulders of others, and we are steeped in a good creation that God gave us. Back to consciousness! It is commonplace to reduce consciousness to intellect. This is a mistake of the highest order. For instance, the reality that we need to muster courage in order to deal with the things that we can totally transcends the mere concept and workings of intellect. Wherever courage comes from, it strikes me that it is a much deeper place than just logic or mental analysis. Much of these above sentiments are captured in the serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen!
