(Recently I explained my decision to regard the current political maelstrom as a distraction that could harm my responsibility to maintain a discerning spirit. Today a further peek into the reasons behind those thoughts.)
When I wrote about stepping around the distractions that could impair my God-given abilities to determine how best to live purposefully right now, I was thinking about my God-given brain. About yours, too…. Here’s where that train of thought comes from, and what it heads toward.
Stress of any kind—including political upheavals—sends our bodies and brains into automatic physical responses that include flight, freezing, fighting and *fawning. All of those reactions end up the same: Cortisol streams into our brains and bodies. After awhile, cortisol starts to atrophy critical brain structures necessary for optimal thinking—“discernment” by another name. Some body systems head towards malfunctioning. And gradually our identities—all the qualities that characterize us—are reshaped in ways that aren’t helpful to us or the people around us.
Let me be clear: These reactions are automatic. We don’t choose to be angry or fearful or hateful. Or depressed, dismissive or physically ill, either. But choosing to avoid ingesting anything that causes that cognitive and physical harm—that’s up to us.
Besides wanting not to be harmed by anxiety-producing distractions, I also don’t want to have my sense of purpose stolen by attention-grabbers who hope to control my emotions and shape my identity. That seems wrong on the face of it, and not a good way to live! I don’t want to end up as anyone’s toady.
So understand me clearly here: I’m trying to keep my brain and its spirit healthy, capable and functional. Why? If my brain is distracted, befuddled or otherwise messed-up, it might be hard for me to fulfill my specific part of God’s will.
I want to remain a discerning steward of God’s gifts!
*I’ve seen “fawning” enough times recently to think that brain scientists have now connected this behavior—obsequious groveling in the presence of fearsome people or stimuli—to the list of already-identified automatic stress reactions.
(To receive these entries when they are posted, go to the upper right-hand corner of the top banner and click on the three dots or parallel lines. Scroll down to the subscription form and enter your information