When the ego is forced to choosebetween happiness and victimhood,
it will always choose being the victim. – James Twyman
A friend sent this quote to me.
I’ve been simmering on this since Wednesday.
What do you think?
What do you choose?
Tags: in search of self, life, survive
I had to think about that for a little bit and looked up the context of which it was written (sounded like a word salad to me). I don’t agree and it’s not my ego rejecting this statement. I was raised in a church that taught us the evil inside (ego) has to be fought every day. Only by Christ (and believing exactly what they dictated in their doctrine) are you saved and everyone else is lost and evil. Ok, that is my version, but for someone to say that all Jews, and essentially everyone of every other religion or none, go to hell really made me cringe. And what man knows what God says truly or has the authority to determine who goes to heaven. I don’t believe it.
I don’t believe we are all evil and are only good by fighting for it and surrendering to God. I don’t believe we want bad things in our lives so we can claim to be the victim all the time. I don’t believe we are responsible for how others act.
The book will say I am rejecting this notion because I want to be right, when I really should be succumbing to the ideology that I am always wrong. That the fact I am always wrong should be my reality. It sounds like my last marriage.
In fact, I give God more credit than that. God works within me, striving for my happiness, guiding my decisions, sending out a message for another time and again. Life has its ups and downs because it is life. It’s cyclical and unpredictable, but it wouldn’t be living without it.
I think I choose happiness, but in hindsight I can see times when my choices made me a victim. I guess I can see some validity to the statement, but am not sure if it means consciously.
For a very long time I was foolish and chose to be the victim. I am not a victim anymore. I will never choose that road again.
Z,
I love putting this out there and seeing what comes back. And what you send back is always thought-provoking. Thanks!
I completely agree with you.
I don’t believe that we are born sinners and must spend every waking moment trying to cleanse our souls or that we must surrender to God.
I did Google Twyman, but didn’t read too deeply. I was enjoying where the quote was sending my thoughts, and I’m still discovering where that will take me.
More on that later…
Anonymous,
Hi, and thanks for commenting. I agree with you, too. I’m not convinced that we make a conscious choice to be the victim.
Kath,
Nice to see you here again.
I’m still simmering on this, but my gut tells me we don’t intentionally choose to be the victim. I wonder if it has to do with the lizard brain, our default settings and our comfort zones.
Yay You!!! Make the choice to veer away from that default setting and keep going!
I choose to cultivate happiness. <3 May your brain choose happiness as well. Oh, and may your head rest upon chocolate pillows, too. ;)
Meredith,
Excellent choice, dear. Perhaps there ought to be a compass with an “H” on it for Happiness?
The ego will always choose ‘victim’ because that is where the energy and decision of victim originate.
When you start healing and loving yourself and calming down, then you start choosing happy via your consciousness.
Donna,
That’s what I’d been guessing. I was thinking the default (victimhood, in some cases) is the ego, but that we can make a conscious choice for happy.