Revelations and Evaluations

Every so often in life you discover things, learn things, or stumble upon hidden secrets and, when these find themselves at home in your wellspring of knowledge, you have two very different reactions; you may often wish that you never heard them, choosing to stick your head in the ground like the mighty ostrich or you assimilate this knowledge gladly like the Borg do of a new unsuspecting crew.  Rare does such information elicit a mediocre shrug of disinterest.  Both deposit knowledge and sometimes one most look close to see the cost.

The revelations of the later variety are great and happy and always bring with it some sort of joy.  These can be negative events or knowledge but positive to the ear of the hearer for any number of reasons.  Some of those reasons can be because we are depraved humans looking for what can benefit us and what can work out to get me what I want; jealousy and selfish ambition is what is at work here.  Maybe the opposite is true and that revelation is positive and brings with it joy because the simple act of the knowledge being acquired is beneficial with no hurt to anyone else and that makes it all the more sweet.  Of course, the two do not have to be separated and can play off of each other but that is perhaps for another day.

Today I speak of those unwanted revelations that make you uncomfortable, or angry, or sad, or make the hair on your neck stand, or those that make your stomach churn like the waters under a river steamboat.  You know the ones I am talking about.  Those revelations that so shake you that you feel you just went through a massive earthquake while at the same time going through a rock tumbler.  Those are the ones of which I address today.

Have you ever been told something that hits you in the gut and knocks the breath out of you?  I think we all have.  How do you react?  How do you assimilate this knowledge?  How do you move forward knowing this and acting as if everything was okay?  All good questions and I think not all of them can be easily answered.  Each of us is different, with our own values, our own character, and our own set of life shaping events.  We all think differently and we know it.  “You don’t understand me,” is often true because sometimes we just do not.  We want to comfort one another with this but realistically, we do not understand.  We want to but we do not. 

I digress a bit because…well…I can.  It is my blog and so I do what I want.

Back to the revelations!

I think those bad/negative revelations (can also be unwanted) challenge us and motivate us.  They shape us and mold us.  They confront us with ourselves and force us to evaluate who we are, where we are, what we are doing, where we are going, and yes…even what part we may have in this. 

When we evaluate we look at, examine closely, and even reassess ourselves.  If life were just one pleasant event after another, one positive revelation after another, how would we grow?  Would we become dynamic or remain static?  We always second guess ourselves, always seek the easy way, and we always want to be right but we need to realize that it is the other stuff in life that builds our character.