It’s been another week of great sessions, with my the spirit world sharing wonderful advice and interesting observations. But several times this week I’ve had to point out to my clients that they were beating themselves up without even realizing it. These instances happened after their spirit shared a great piece of information. Each client was intrigued or amazed with the insight that was offered, and then immediately chastised herself for not already knowing that information. It reminded me of a chapter in my book where a client’s spirit eloquently commented on this tendency:

“Humans are the only species that learn something and then feel anger towards themselves once they’ve learned it – anger that they didn’t already know it. As if life is not meant to be experienced but figured out before one arrives. Since it is impossible to know the best action to take in every foreseeable situation, I recommend that you avoid needless suffering by having compassion for yourself after you learn something.”

My client Carolyn immediately recognized the truth in her spirit’s comments, and later in the session her spirit offered more on this topic:

“…And adults tend to resist learning – learning things about themselves and about healthy changes that they could make – because of the ensuing self-judgment. We are more compassionate with children, and we tell them that they are not expected to know everything already – that’s why they go to school. But school is not capable of teaching a person everything that she will need to know throughout her entire life, agreed?….And yet adults tend to judge themselves when they have to learn through the process of “getting it wrong.” This self-judgment implies that no more learning should be necessary beyond a certain age.”

Is there an age that – if you reach it – you then know everything necessary to “never get it wrong”? I’m thinking probably not….

So now I’m trying to pay more attention to my own tendency to cringe self-consciously when I learn or realize something that I’d not known previously.

I’m not suggesting that you get excited about your ignorance, just grateful that you’re always growing in awareness and that there is always more to learn.

Because let’s face it, if you already knew everything, wouldn’t life be boring? And a bit aggravating, waiting for everyone else to figure out what you already know? 🙂