***This seems like a nonsense statement in our culture, but I believe the concept is key to unlocking the way to healthy healing of psychosis and anxiety disorder. We all know this world is broken and needs fixing, but more emotionally sensitive people, often children, don't just know it, they feel it. This one has to be taught as a story though, so please welcome back your inner child and enjoy the ride :) ***
Once upon a time there were three sisters. Their mother likened them to the porridge in the Goldilocks tale. The eldest she said was too head strong but she admired her drive, the middle one she thought was just right, and her youngest cried if she stepped on a buttercup! "Lord!" cried the mother, "what do I do with this big cry baby?" As usual, she heard no answer but the fear of all mothers - what if my kids don't get a good job? What if they starve?
The mother let the head strong child go her own way, she was cut out for this tough world and she was thankful. She thought the middle child a perfect balance of tough and kind and was thankful. She worried non-stop about her paper-thin baby and prayed for His guidance. She was so earnest and so sincere that God sent her an angel that night. The angel explained how to fix her daughter.
The next morning she awoke and assumed it to be a dream. She read her holy book and found nothing like what the angel said and went back to the kind of waking sleep we all do to stay sane in a tough world. The mother tried to toughen her child up, by now she must be able to cope with Halloween and scary movies... the girl watched fearfully and though she followed her mother she grew anxious inside. These things were scary!
The older two kids were successful. The go-getter first born aced her exams and went on the study cancer cures. The middle child wanted to fly planes of aid to developing countries and though she never pursued wealth she did alright. The youngest could never reconcile the world she saw with what her soul needed. People starved, heaven was for a select few and she loved everyone, the earth was being polluted and the movies treated dystopia (hell) like it was an exciting idea. The girl became so anxious she began to think of terrible ways to end her pain and the doctors wanted to medicate her...
The mother prayed but an angel can come only once. God heard the heartbreak and sent her hints to revive the memory of what she was told and the mother cried. She had the answer given freely and she'd walked away. Maybe you think you would not, but we are so conditioned against the idea of miracles that the mind cannot hold them for long - like dreams. The mother was determined not to forget again and went to her daughter, now a teenager, and told her what the angel said. Then she explained it in the way only a heartbroken mother can.
"I taught you as a child that hypocrisy is wrong, we should be true to our beliefs. But for someone as pure as you that doesn't work. You have so many dearly held and cherished values and this world is so broken that you must be a good hypocrite. You don't really want a house because not everyone has one. You don't really want food because babies starve. You'd give up your eternity so that they got one decent shot at life. Baby, you're a miracle, a God sent miracle. But you need to eat. You need sleep. You can't help God, you can't change the world from the inside of a casket and baby, I can't live without you. No mother should ever have to bury her daughter. God needs you to be a good hypocrite, the kind that never accepts the suffering of others and works tirelessly to alleviate it. But baby, let us less enlightened people who love you keep you safe while you learn these new rules. You are God sent. It was never for me to toughen you up, that was my mistake, it was for me to find a healthy way for you to express who you really are." The mother cried. The daughter was baffled and held her Mom's hand.
Over time the mother taught her smallest daughter that she was beautiful inside and never to sacrifice that beauty or "toughen up." Instead the daughter learnt how to be a "Good hypocrite" because this world needs more like her.
Once upon a time there were three sisters. Their mother likened them to the porridge in the Goldilocks tale. The eldest she said was too head strong but she admired her drive, the middle one she thought was just right, and her youngest cried if she stepped on a buttercup! "Lord!" cried the mother, "what do I do with this big cry baby?" As usual, she heard no answer but the fear of all mothers - what if my kids don't get a good job? What if they starve?
The mother let the head strong child go her own way, she was cut out for this tough world and she was thankful. She thought the middle child a perfect balance of tough and kind and was thankful. She worried non-stop about her paper-thin baby and prayed for His guidance. She was so earnest and so sincere that God sent her an angel that night. The angel explained how to fix her daughter.
The next morning she awoke and assumed it to be a dream. She read her holy book and found nothing like what the angel said and went back to the kind of waking sleep we all do to stay sane in a tough world. The mother tried to toughen her child up, by now she must be able to cope with Halloween and scary movies... the girl watched fearfully and though she followed her mother she grew anxious inside. These things were scary!
The older two kids were successful. The go-getter first born aced her exams and went on the study cancer cures. The middle child wanted to fly planes of aid to developing countries and though she never pursued wealth she did alright. The youngest could never reconcile the world she saw with what her soul needed. People starved, heaven was for a select few and she loved everyone, the earth was being polluted and the movies treated dystopia (hell) like it was an exciting idea. The girl became so anxious she began to think of terrible ways to end her pain and the doctors wanted to medicate her...
The mother prayed but an angel can come only once. God heard the heartbreak and sent her hints to revive the memory of what she was told and the mother cried. She had the answer given freely and she'd walked away. Maybe you think you would not, but we are so conditioned against the idea of miracles that the mind cannot hold them for long - like dreams. The mother was determined not to forget again and went to her daughter, now a teenager, and told her what the angel said. Then she explained it in the way only a heartbroken mother can.
"I taught you as a child that hypocrisy is wrong, we should be true to our beliefs. But for someone as pure as you that doesn't work. You have so many dearly held and cherished values and this world is so broken that you must be a good hypocrite. You don't really want a house because not everyone has one. You don't really want food because babies starve. You'd give up your eternity so that they got one decent shot at life. Baby, you're a miracle, a God sent miracle. But you need to eat. You need sleep. You can't help God, you can't change the world from the inside of a casket and baby, I can't live without you. No mother should ever have to bury her daughter. God needs you to be a good hypocrite, the kind that never accepts the suffering of others and works tirelessly to alleviate it. But baby, let us less enlightened people who love you keep you safe while you learn these new rules. You are God sent. It was never for me to toughen you up, that was my mistake, it was for me to find a healthy way for you to express who you really are." The mother cried. The daughter was baffled and held her Mom's hand.
Over time the mother taught her smallest daughter that she was beautiful inside and never to sacrifice that beauty or "toughen up." Instead the daughter learnt how to be a "Good hypocrite" because this world needs more like her.