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should know
if you're
EXPERIENCING METANOIA:
a change of
MIND, HEART, SELF
OR WAY OF LIFE
Whether it’s a simple shift of committing to treating people with more
kindness, the brutal (and liberating) realization that you’re
responsible for your own happiness, trying to better make sense of
the world is a heavy-duty task, and we’re called to do it numerous
times in a life. There’s a beautiful word for this: It’s called “metanoia,”
and it originates from the Greek word for “changing one’s mind or
purpose.” It really doesn’t matter what you’re changing from, or to,
only that any kind of massive psychological or emotional shift tends
to heed similar circumstances and common struggles. Here are a
few things you need to know if you’re going through one of your own:
01. If it’s a relationship that prompted a revolution in your
worldview, know that this relationship has likely served its
purpose. A lot of people hold on to the catalyst of their
personal “awakenings” because they confuse “big love” for
being “forever love.” They’re not the same thing.
02. You don’t need to be mad about your limiting, old beliefs:
Change is in building what’s next, not in dismantling what
was. You don’t need to ruminate in disappointment for how
long you spent not realizing there was more to life than you
assumed. The point is that you figured it out eventually.
03. The base of any personal catastrophe or desire for deeper
understanding is usually the same: It’s the realization that
you, and only you, are responsible for your life. You cannot
depend on anything—anything!—to do the real, grueling work
of what it means to find comfort in a world that’s entirely
impermanent. No job, no amount of money, no relationship,
no accomplishment can supplement that for you. It’s a peace
you must come to first; then you can enjoy the rest.
04. “Loving yourself” is an action, not a feeling. When we think of
romantic love, we think of the flush of hormones that gives us
an ooey-gooey emotion. We rarely think of the daily tasks and
commitments necessary to make someone else’s well-being
as important as our own. The same goes for loving yourself:
We think it’s the emotion that comes with holding yourself in
high regard, when most of the time it’s more like standing up
for yourself, having the courage to keep going, having the
courage to quit, finding happiness despite the impermanence
and unreliability of things, and so on.
05. You don’t need to have every answer, nor will you ever have
every answer. It’s never about how certain you are, it’s about
how willing you are to try anyway. Nobody knows the
mysterious abyss from which we come and eventually go
back to, and yet so many people’s lives—and our
society/culture in general—are crafted and dictated from
teachings about this unknown. Everything is speculation for
now—but some speculations lead to a happier, kinder, more
peaceful world (and some don’t). The point isn’t who knows
what for sure; the point is who is willing to do what it takes to
make the best version of the reality we have now.
06. You don’t need to believe in anything, but you do need to be
able to listen to what feels true in the moment and hold
enough objectivity to speak and act with respect and
kindness toward yourself and those around you. And if you’re
instructed or pressured to believe in anything that doesn’t
resonate with you at basically every cell of your being, know
that it is your internal guidance system saying: “not quite.”
07. Your struggles will be what make you what you are.
Discomfort is the pressure usually required to make us act in
a way that we wouldn’t otherwise. This, on the surface, feels
scary, because it is unknown. But the most difficult moments
of your life will be the catalysts of your becoming. The
challenges will grow you into someone you never imagined
you could be. The “bad” things in your life will be the
necessary leeways into things better than you can imagine.
You will be grateful things didn’t turn out the way you wanted.
You will be grateful for what you struggle with once you get to
the other side.
ABOUT
the
PUBLISHER
Thought Catalog Books is a publishing house owned by The
Thought & Expression Company, an independent media group
based in Brooklyn, NY. Founded in 2010, we are committed to
facilitating thought and expression. We exist to help people become
better communicators and listeners in order to engender a more
exciting, attentive, and imaginative world.
Visit us on the web at:
www.thought.is
or
www.thoughtcatalog.com
.
ABOUT
the
AUTHOR
Brianna Wiest is a writer and author. You can find her work on
The
Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, Thought Catalog, Glamour, Medium,
Soul Anatomy, Bustle,
and others.
Facebook:
facebook.com/briaeliza
Twitter: @
briannawiest
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