Seeing Gray - for Your Mental Health?
Filed Under: General
I’m in San Diego today to speak to the students at Point Loma University in their chapel service, then to speak at a luncheon at the City Club of San Diego and finally at an evening lecture at First United Methodist Church of San Diego, before flying back to K.C. I’m speaking on the topic of Seeing Gray. As I was preparing my comments for San Diego I ran across this quote from psychologist Mark Sichel that I found interesting,
“Always” and “never,” polar opposite words, tend to characterize the vocabulary of black and white thinkers. Black and white thinking means seeing the world only in terms of extremes. If things aren’t “perfect,” then they must be “horrible.” If your child isn’t “brilliant” then he must be “stupid.” If you’re not “fascinating” then you must be “boring.” Yikes! What a tough way to live! In real-life, situations are almost always shades of gray, not black or white. Falling victim to black and white thinking tends to exacerbate depression, marital conflict, anxiety, and a host of other everyday problems. Give yourself and the ones you love a break and discover the beauty of shades of gray. (
Read Mark’s entire post).
For those reading this who live in San Diego feel free to join me at First United Methodist Church of San Diego tonight (April 2) at 7:00 p.m. I’ll be signing my book following my talk in Seeing Gray. For more information check out this link.
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xuxagirl87 | Apr 6, 2008 | Reply
That quote is brilliant. I think its very important, especially when it comes to relationships with other people, to try to see the other side of things. Granted, some things have a lot to do with common sense, but I think people are often surprised at how many arguments can be avoided, or at least made less severe, just by understanding that there is NOT always only one way to see things.
Stearman | Apr 11, 2008 | Reply
A metaphor from LONG ago sticks in my mind. The Cross has two components. The larger component is the vertical, which symbolizes that one’s relationship to God is a one-to-one relationship, and the horizontal component symbolizes that as a result of the directly personal relationship to God, we are required to reach out to those on either side of us. Our decisions should be what we understand God wants us to do. That is OUR responsibility, and it is NOT the business of either the Liberal or Conservative self-righteous who think they have the authority to speak for God.