August 04, 2020 4:15 AM
Carlin used to do this classic comedy bit about converting to a solar religion.
Sun worship is fairly simple. There are no crucifixions, and we’re not setting people on fire simply because they don’t agree with us. There’s no mystery, no miracles, no pageantry, no one asks for money, there are no songs to learn, and we don’t have a special building where we all gather once a week to compare clothing. And the best thing about the sun, it never tells you you’re unworthy. Doesn’t tell you that you’re a bad person who needs to be saved. Hasn’t said an unkind word. Treats you fine.
George depicts the perfect model for our interpersonal relationships.
Especially when the people we love are suffering. You know they’re hurting and it cuts you into a thousand pieces. You know their brain is not in a place where they can learn. And in that moment, what they need more than anything is for us to be like the sun.
Meaning, don’t do anything to solve the problem. Just be the solution. Offer warmth and presence and love. Trust that they’ll get the insight they need if you just love them through this chapter of their lives.
And trust that they will make it out alive, as long as you keep reminding them who they are along the way. It’s about all you can do.
You have to resist the urge approach them from a place of fixing or consulting. Otherwise everything you say will just pass through them like a breeze.
Yes, it’s painful to accept the powerlessness that love brings us. But lest we forget, this is the cost of love. It’s what our heart and soul signed up for when we decided to take the plunge.
Be like the sun. As the great poet once wrote, let there be light, and let it begin with me.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
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Author. Speaker. Strategist. Songwriter. Filmmaker. Inventor. Gameshow Host. World Record Holder. I also wear a nametag 24-7. Even to bed.
MEET SCOTT 