Think. Feel. Intuit. Attract. Act. Control.
These are all vital functions of the psyche. I could wish for a little more in the intuition and attraction departments, but mostly, I am grateful. Everyone is unique, and everyone has a place in the world. I like how I was made. If anyone tries to change me, I react with scorn and indignation. I am grateful for who I am!
I do wish I were better at releasing the right functions at the right time. Sometimes I Think when I should be Feeling, or Act when I should be Intuiting, and so on. But... I suppose... Who's in charge of "should"? It's a matter of using the function at the right time that gets a result that makes me happy, ultimately. But I am not very good at judging which is the right one for the situation, nor of controlling which one rises up, when. It's like each function has a mind of its own and rises up when it wants to. It often produces awkward moments, where I feel out of place with the world, unsure of myself and unhappy with the results. But even this awkwardness, if it is what it is, is how I was made, and I should love it. I'm doing me. And I'm trying to love it. Maybe I will get more skilled in regulating and controlling all of these functions as I grow older and keep trying.
The function I have been pondering a lot lately is the Thinking function. It might be my strongest one. It's my default. I am very conscientious--I have a very strong sense of "should," and always strive for what is "right." I have a firm grasp on reality, and a head for logic. I am critical and skeptical. I love this about myself. It keeps me honest, open minded, realistic, consistent, and accurate. It sometimes paralyzes me in over-analysis, which can be annoying. And it sometimes leads me to self-judgement and harshness, which sometimes leaks out onto others as well. If people only knew-- as judgmental as I can be of others, I'm 100 times more so with myself.
So, obviously, this trait can be dysfunctional, but it has a lot of strengths, too. I am an excellent editor. I can figure things out. I can create structures and systems that work flawlessly. I can see through bullshit. I can discuss intellectual ideas.
To love my strengths is to remove the poison from them, preventing them from becoming weaknesses. Right? So the theory goes; we shall see. Loving myself. It's no small thing. Because despite how hard I've tried, my life hasn't been what I wanted.
I do hope I can do better than I have in the past to make the most use out of how I was made. Looking back, I think I have wasted a lot of what I was given, even though I always tried so hard. But I can't change that. Only now counts. I hope I can learn to be as grateful for my past as I am for the present and for my potentials.
This is why I react so strongly against someone trying to change me, even slightly. Nobody has the right to control me, and nobody has the capability of, or motivation for, scrutinizing my life as I, myself, already do. Nobody could be more serious about improving my life than I already am, and nobody understands the long string of circumstances and choices that brought me to where I am. Nobody knows more deeply than I do, that in each circumstance that arose in my life, I tried my absolute hardest to do what was right. For anyone to presume that they know better, that they can take over my ability to think, is highly insulting. Maybe I overreact a bit when it happens, I don't know...
I struggle with the fact that I struggle. It's a weird tension between loving what is and working for making things better. If I love what is, what motivation do I have to notice injustice, dysfunction, imbalance, and suffering, and to use my gifts to alleviate those things? How do I find the resolution between these two things--resting in what is and working towards what should be?
And then, how can I both love myself and come to terms with the fact that "me-doing-me" sometimes leads to mistakes, pain, suffering, and injustice? When I am harsh with myself, I know that is violence and ingratitude, but maybe me being harsh with myself is also part of who I am. Why would I shut down part of who I am, if I am supposed to love who I am? How do I resolve this, grow through it, and hold on to love?
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