Projection, blame and the Nile. Our MOTIVES.

It's interesting to look at the life course of almost all of us humans in these regards. Seems to me to be a two fer. The really innocent young seem not to shy away from admitting that some action and it's consequences was at least part of their doing. When the books topple off the shelf, most kindergarteners may laugh, perhaps a little anxiously, when asked who dunnit. They tend, however, to admit their roles. But soon this changes, and we see the results in older folks every day..... Someone else shouldn't have placed the books where they could easily fall. Why were they so close to our play/work area anyway? Mary Jane pushed me into them. Or worst, the reflexive retort----I didn't do it. Of course, many spiritual traditions, educators, self help groups, good parents, therapists, etc. encourage us to be truthful, and to admit our places in what happens. But it goes much deeper. When things don't seem to go our way, a little honest reflection almost always shows that somehow, somewhere, something in our actions or behaviors were involved in the causal loop of how the world works. And lordy...can we ever rationalize our roles out of the loops? In the worst cases of denial, we may actually see our involvement, but spin our motives around to make ourselves believe that, if we did have a role in things, it was well intentioned! The upside here, at least for me, is that when I try to practice such self honesty, and examine my motives, the Mr. Wonderful vanishes, and I learn a little about life. Even better, I crack myself up about myself. Belly laughs. But none of us are saints. And the question is, what sorts of forces change honest little kids into self deluding adults? The troubling answers underly much of human pain and strife. Aa.