I tend to deliver sermons to my children. I never went to church so this is sort of a guess as to what a sermon might be.
This morning’s sermon was about character flaws. I told the children that everyone has character flaws and if we are aware of ours, we can manage them and not act them out all the time. Not only that, it helps us notice other people’s character flaws. It helps us forgive them for not being perfect but also to not be surprised when they act them out.
We were on our way to a friend’s house in Tahoe. My son doesn’t get along with their daughter, who is one of my daughter’s best friends. How do we manage the incompatibility between their characters? We discussed. We shared what we thought each of our own character flaws were and what character flaws we can see in others.
I wish I had had this framing growing up. Basically I was aware that I tend to get excited about my life and my ideas and can easily get carried away with my projects in conversation. It is a character flaw that I often felt ashamed of. But now I realize that it is a symptom of excitement and that in all honestly, I am also a very curious person - so when I remember to ask other people about their lives, I am truly interested and get just as excited to listen.
Guiding has been all about listening. After a quarter century of focusing deeply on my own creative process, I decided that it was time to focus at least in part, on other people’s creative process. Creative Journey is my answer to that desire. I am amazed at how engaging other people’s living art projects can be. I had no idea.
If we can empathetically see our strengths and our weaknesses, we can find pockets of energy and excitement that we have been denying ourselves with our habits. Psychedelics help us find these pockets of potential. They can help us see the connection between our human frailty and everyone else’s relieving us of shame. Once free we can be effective problem solvers and locate more balance and human connection in our lives.
Sounds easy enough but feels pretty amazing.