Thank you for stopping and getting this off your chest. 🥰
In my church, there is a lot of talk about our depravity and unworthiness, but I have been reading Richard Rohr and following the Center for Action and Contemplation that he founded . There, I learned about the goodness within. God created us and we are good. Rohr speaks of the immortal diamond within us that is of God. We can nurture and care for it. We can honor and grow with this spark of God within, or we can hide it and believe it isn’t there.
The good news is like the story of the character who went to jail. We can unload the darkness that is hiding our light. With the help of God and the Spirit, we can discover and love the light within. If we know the light is there, like the friends did, we can share and encourage it within ourselves and others.
There is a light in Mr. Trump. It seems hidden to me. He needs someone to show him where his goodness is and encourage its growth.
Rethinking original sin and the issue of shame is spot on. The whole inhibition connection can go deeper too. Teasing this out is an important contribution. Well said!
Thinking you have found your next book premise! As a college student in Philosophy, I was the only student who stated I believed people were basically good…gave the professor quite a bit of energy but my stance has remained the same. As an educator the difficult students were an opportunity to take the time to find that goodness…always found it!
Congrats on your first video! It’s actually the first video I’ve ever watched on Substack, so new for me too.
Your thinking about Trump folks makes sense to me. Like you I have also wondered about the disinhibition aspect, especially after listening to that Ezra Klein episode. I might put it a little differently and say that it is the inhibited folks rather than the disinhibited folks who are drawn to him in that way (because the disinhibited are already acting out) but it amounts to the same thing: I like him because he is doing and saying the things I wish I could do and say but are too afraid to, and he’s getting away with it! Hooray!
I also liked your idea of the God within. Full disclosure, I am Buddhist so it very much resonates with me that at the very bottom of our being we are divine and that it’s (what we call) the delusions enveloping it that is the cause of our problems. We are encouraged to view everyone as if the are a chunk of gold covered in mud, and we are meant to relate to the gold (their Buddha nature) rather than the mud (their delusions). I find that relating this way to people allows me to be much more loving and compassionate.
Anyway — congrats again in your video. We’ll look forward the to the next one. 🤩
Thank you for stopping and getting this off your chest. 🥰
In my church, there is a lot of talk about our depravity and unworthiness, but I have been reading Richard Rohr and following the Center for Action and Contemplation that he founded . There, I learned about the goodness within. God created us and we are good. Rohr speaks of the immortal diamond within us that is of God. We can nurture and care for it. We can honor and grow with this spark of God within, or we can hide it and believe it isn’t there.
The good news is like the story of the character who went to jail. We can unload the darkness that is hiding our light. With the help of God and the Spirit, we can discover and love the light within. If we know the light is there, like the friends did, we can share and encourage it within ourselves and others.
There is a light in Mr. Trump. It seems hidden to me. He needs someone to show him where his goodness is and encourage its growth.
Well, those are my thoughts.
Rethinking original sin and the issue of shame is spot on. The whole inhibition connection can go deeper too. Teasing this out is an important contribution. Well said!
Thanks for listening, Andrew!
I enjoy reading your posts. Peace,
Andy
Thinking you have found your next book premise! As a college student in Philosophy, I was the only student who stated I believed people were basically good…gave the professor quite a bit of energy but my stance has remained the same. As an educator the difficult students were an opportunity to take the time to find that goodness…always found it!
What a gift, Pamela!
Congrats on your first video! It’s actually the first video I’ve ever watched on Substack, so new for me too.
Your thinking about Trump folks makes sense to me. Like you I have also wondered about the disinhibition aspect, especially after listening to that Ezra Klein episode. I might put it a little differently and say that it is the inhibited folks rather than the disinhibited folks who are drawn to him in that way (because the disinhibited are already acting out) but it amounts to the same thing: I like him because he is doing and saying the things I wish I could do and say but are too afraid to, and he’s getting away with it! Hooray!
I also liked your idea of the God within. Full disclosure, I am Buddhist so it very much resonates with me that at the very bottom of our being we are divine and that it’s (what we call) the delusions enveloping it that is the cause of our problems. We are encouraged to view everyone as if the are a chunk of gold covered in mud, and we are meant to relate to the gold (their Buddha nature) rather than the mud (their delusions). I find that relating this way to people allows me to be much more loving and compassionate.
Anyway — congrats again in your video. We’ll look forward the to the next one. 🤩
Yes, good point about the inhibited/disinhibited character trait--I may have used the wrong word there.
And yes, I find the Buddhist conception of the self really intriguing--and there are some connections with Celtic spirituality as well.
Thank you for watching and commenting!