I am taking Sociology 218 this semester. The name of the class is Deviant Behavior. Yep, right up my alley -- in more ways than one.
This past week we were discussing how people have three different sides to their personalities. There is the public side that is shown to co-workers, fellow students, teachers, etc. Then there is the private side that you show to your close friends. Lastly, there is a dark side to everyone. This we try not to act on, nor do we show it to anyone. This is what separates us from the sociopaths of the world.
Due to the fact that I belong to two different 12-Step fellowships, I literally know hundreds of people. However, I consider only a few of those people to be friends. Then there is what I refer to as my "inner circle." These are the people that I allow to see the real me. These people know both my public and private sides. They also know my dark side. These friends of my inner circle know this dark side of me and they still love and accept me. They also help me to not act on this side of my personality. The friends who are a part of my inner circle are not afraid to say to me, "What the heck are you thinking?"
I am so incredibly grateful for all of the amazing people that my Higher Power has put into my life. I am especially grateful for those friends whom I consider to be part of my inner circle. When I think of the two families that my Higher Power has blessed me with I guess that these friends would be considered immediate family.
I "keep trudging the happy road of destiny." I am blessed to have such wonderful people to walk beside me on this journey.
Good post, Angie. I used to try hard to hide my dark side, so at least I wasn't a sociopath. But the darkness would build up in me, and end up exploding, hurting whoever happened to be around me at that moment. Now, I can ask God to remove those character defects each day, and the pressure doesn't build up anymore. And I've been give the gift of the "God moment." It's that space between when I have an emotional reaction to a situation and when I act. I can ask God for guidance in that space, and I'm given a direction that is healthy...and the emotional energy dissipates. Thanks for your blog!
ReplyDelete