Conflicting Feelings May but Need Not Lead to Guilt
Blizzards! Sub-zero temperatures! Four to six feet of snow! The first responders (fire engines, paramedics) themselves stuck and in need of rescue! Deaths. The current situation with the weather in most of the United States and Canada, and our feelings about it, may call for a reminder about the value of understanding our mental pathways. Presumably you feel, as I do, concern and sympathy for those who have been affected. But do we have other feelings that conflict with these?
Schadenfreude
Some people who are not affected feel schadenfreude (pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune), and perhaps some misgivings, some guilt, that they have this feeling.
Survivor's Guilt
Some people feel relieved and glad that they are spared this situation. Understandable, yet they, too, may feel guilt.
Enjoying the Situation without Guilt
Since moving from the Midwest to the West Coast, I have missed experiencing the sound of strong winds and the beauty of fallen snow. During this nationwide catastrophe, I have enjoyed the dramatic descriptions and pictures of the blizzards. But I feel no guilt because I have reminded myself that we all have many mental pathways, and that they don't negate each other. The pathway that enjoys the dramatic weather doesn't negate the pathway that feels sympathy for the victims of the storms. I can enjoy the blizzards, knowing that in that other pathway, I feel compassion just as strongly.
The Inner Guide
When having a mixture of feelings, some of which seem objectionable, one can end up with feelings of guilt. This is not necessary if you remember that multiple mental pathways don't negate each other. But this can be hard to remember in the moment. An Inner Guide, which is a very special mental pathway in the mind that is devoted to ending your discomforts and problems, can remind you of this and help you to feel comfortable with all of your mental pathways.
The course, Achieving Emotional Comfort®, that shows you how to create your own Inner Guide, is available at: go.emotionalcomfort.com/getcourse
