Victim of Circumstances or Inside-Out/Oustide-In

Looks like the economy is collapsing and a lot of people are gonna be seriously hurting in the coming months and even years (this definitely includes me). But I sense that this discomfort will depend primarily on how you define yourself. Do you define yourself through external circumstances or from some sense of self only to be found deep within?

If your intrinsic self-value is contingent on the clothes you wear, the car you drive, the size house you live in, the size of your bank account, etc, etc, etc, then you might soon realize yourself as a victim of circumstances.

Because when all that’s gone who and what will you be? What values will you turn to in redefining your “self’ when the world no longer permits your current definition? Or will you simply crumble into hopelessness?

Therefore, the question is do the circumstances define you or do you define the circumstances? Keep in mind, circumstances are always outside 'you.' However, the defining takes part inside. This makes the question even easier to frame:

Do you define yourself from the outside-in or the inside-out?

Many define themselves almost entirely from external circumstances. They feel they have little choice in determining direction, since circumstances determine direction for them. They often become easily depressed, discouraged and disappointed for long periods of time by what they SEE happening outside their head. They tend to get anxious and even panicky about the concepts of loss, lack and scarcity, which are constructed entirely from circumstances they SEE outside their mind. They are easily influenced by apocalyptic prophesies because they still live by the adage that SEEING IS BELIEVING.

However, there are others who seem as if they were made to thrive peacefully, and even joyfully, through whatever circumstances are occurring. They have somehow learned that BELIEVING IS SEEING and, therefore, they are impervious to adversity because there never is any.

They don’t define themselves on mental states that result from external circumstances. However, it is important to keep in mind that these folks can feel anxiety, discouragement, depression, etc, but it's brief and easily extinguished often with nothing but a thought from deep 'within' (any idea what that thought might be?).

The important point is that they do NOT define the ‘self’ based on these states of mind and thus are not victim to circumstances outside the mind. The thoughts that do define them, are open to change and, in fact, they expect it.

Their expectation for change even incorporates major life and death issues. They tend not to believe in death the way most of us do and this tends to significantly alter how they see life. They know that to cognitively reframe their belief about death is to live life with little care for circumstances and thus in a very joyful state of mind. They have peeked through the conditioned veil the rest of us are blinded by.

They know they are FREE from all circumstances and therefore, they exude confidence IN all circumstances.

Maybe this is YOU!

Peace Angels,
mike