Challenging Prioritization: "Do" while we "Think"

[Anonymous]

As a professional counselor to Soldiers, Marines and their families I have observed that those who remain active through crises–whether death, divorce, addiction, etc.–more thoroughly heal and build from their suffering. I pace while talking on the phone; it helps me process the conversation. I think the First Commandment is profound in the sense that it combines the temporal and eternal parts of our being; we are to love God with all our heart, might, mind and strength.

Whatever the historical, doctrinal or policy issue I wrestle with, I have greater success when I work and think through it.

[Anonymous]

Good point, Nathan.

In my experience the “doing” I needed was like your pacing on the phone, but I was pacing in and out of believing in the church at all, and it really helped me to look outside the church for answers. It helped me be more comfortable staying in the church.

Perhaps sometimes we benefit from doing, not just thinking, but what we are faithful to changes from what we used to believe in and now have trouble with, but we keep our hearts faithful to a personal working commitment to God and our own souls, even if we let go of remaining faithful to the church.

I don’t think we grow by just giving up trying.

[Anonymous]

Thinking does one type of affect upon us. But it is fantasy and imagining. It mostly effects the surface of our souls, IMO. We organize, categorize, analyze and make some type of conscious construct.

The doing! That is a powerful tool to access the deep parts of our souls, deep in our subconscious. This is the “programming” we can manipulate with the action, through ritual and ceremony, even if that is pacing and talking, really reaching out to someone with your soul to help them (a troubled solider perhaps). You can’t do this same thing (for you and the person you are serving) by just sitting around and thinking about it.

[Author]

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