Friday, February 1, 2008

underneath the excitement of moving into a new season of my life, i'm so nervous. i know that this transition is going to bring so much adventure, beauty and joy to my life, but taking the final step is scary. what if this life i've always dreamed of, doesn't end up being as great as i pictured it? or worse ... what if it is and then i realize i'm not strong enough to survive in it? what will i dream about now that i'm moving into my movie-esque scenerio? and then there's the other, more glaring thought ... what if it's everything i've imagined and i am exactly where i'm supposed to be? in a place where my soul is content ... where i can thrive and mature and live freely under the umbrella of peace and ultimate joy? that seems more terrifying to me than the other concerns.

aren't i supposed to be upset with how things should be but aren't? am i not supposed to be conflicted by desires to live in joy and yet live in the midst of so much pain? is it right to be ... happy?

that may sound completely stupid for those of you who find it easy to have fun. but i take life way too seriously most of the time. and the result of that is a fear of happiness. a fear of enjoying anything outside of accomplishing a task for the greater good.

so this move leaves me a bit terrified that i may just end up a genuinely joyful person and i'm just not sure i'll know what to do with myself at that point.

am i totally weird and in need of psychiatric interviention, or do any of you feel the same way sometimes?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

i think i'm the same way. "i take life way too seriously most of the time. and the result of that is a fear of happiness." yes. that's me.

Todd Ramsey said...

I don't think you need psychiatric help, but a therapist might not hurt!

It's a shame when we punish ourselves for feeling happy, peaceful or comfortable. While we shouldn't long for those things, we can certainly embrace them when encountered!

Oh, and jk about the therapist thing.

Korey said...

I always feel like when I am perfectly happy, I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop...I wish I could knock it off!

krysta rinke said...

thanks alece! now i know i'm not alone :) by the way, i'm really excited to get to know you ... the work you have devoted your time to is so powerful and greatly needed.

as for you todd ... we're not friends anymore ... jk!

kim said...

ok, if you DO find yourself to be too joyful, will you please call me? I'm going to need the audio...

tricky: seeing the world through God's eyes, therefore having joy vs. seeing the world through God's eyes, therefore desiring change.

and pretty sure todd wasn't kidding about the therapist.

Brad Ruggles said...

I found you through Flowerdust.net...love the blog and especially this post! Awesome stuff!

Brad Ruggles
www.bradruggles.com

krysta rinke said...

don't worry, kim. you'll get a phone call (followed by one the next day of how i've tried to sabotage my life because it was too good to be true!). :)

welcome brad! looking forward to getting to know you!

kali said...

you better live in this and love it and roll around in it until you stink like it!!!!!! This has been a long time coming, God is blessing you beyond your wildest dreams, and as someone who loves you very much...well...do something for me:
Try with all your might to know and believe that you really deserve to be happy...silly, goofy, blissfully, sweetly, crazily happy!
sending love your way, you'll find it just inside your apartment door...:o)

Anonymous said...

I was having a similar conversation last night with a friend.

I don't think there is such a thing as "greater good" if there is the absence of joy or hapiness in the end.

Within all people is the desire to feel the deep sense of happiness and enjoyment.

That's not our fault.

We didn't ask to be created this way.

I blame the creator.

Rather, I think these, our, feelings are intentional in the design of our person.

Therefore I embrace these feelings as natural and, more than that, divine and intentional within me.

And in the end if whatever pursuit I am apart does not allow me the deep and overwhelming feeling of enjoyment, I stop pursuing that thing and move onto something with a greater potential for enjoyment.

cb