My Road—A Christian Journey Through The Lord of the Rings Today?
Psychological Safety
My Road Goes Ever On
A feeling of psychological safety encourages positive behavior in both professional and personal settings. Still, in our modern world where boundaries are crossed randomly and often, we need inner defense systems.
Psychologically speaking, fiction serves humanity well. There is a reason why libraries and bookstores flourished during war times. As a bookseller, Amazon didn’t grow humongous by chance. The nature of a story takes the reader someplace else, offering a respite from present reality.
It’s still winter here, and though the temperature has kindly risen above the Arctic zone of late, the damp chill in the air still adds speed to my steps as I make my daily rounds. While patting various doggy heads and giving tummy rubs to cats who flop at my feet in desperate need of a little loving, I find myself torn between the glory of winter starkness and the dream of spring sunshine.
News today—much of it frightening, grievous, and perplexing—leaves us wondering what to believe and how to manage an overwhelming reality we can’t simplify, full of wounded people we cannot heal. Being misunderstood by others swirling in the mix adds another layer of discomfort to our disturbingly far-from-the-sun world.
How do we defend ourselves? Does escaping into imaginary worlds offer psychological safety? For me—yes! As a writer and a reader, I process real-world realities better if I get away from them and consider the core issues from a distant perspective, allowing characters (As well as authors) to play out various scenarios and see what happens.
I am reading a short story, a novel, and I am plodding through a dense biography this week. The short story entitled Mr. Cat by Eleanor Arnason enchanted me. Even the early symptoms of the stomach flu didn’t bother me as I climbed inside the story and got to know the fascinating characters and their dilemma. The plot revolves around an unusual cat who wants to buy a dragon and all the trouble that brings him. Though it was never stated and there wasn’t a hint of a “lesson to be learned” in the story, the notion of having to rethink plans in the light of unexpected consequences shone a light on personal realities.
I also read a suggested novel about a witch, The Witch of Tessingham Hall by Sinead Spearing, and though uncomfortable with a few profane words scattered about and the whole notion of “magic and witchcraft,” I forged ahead and discovered a much deeper story with a stronger moral base than I expected. The author did not inspire my confidence in her astute understanding of the moral conundrum of evil and curses, but she was able to introduce a character of faith and allow him to offer a bit of wisdom. The comment about Catholics being the ones to respond to the issue of evil “because they still believe it” made me sit up and take notice. It was a profound comment that even the author may not have realized when she wrote it. It suggested that we are works in progress and may scatter shafts of light even when we are not so enlightened ourselves.
The Heart of a Woman: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price is not an easy read. It’s a dense academic work with a huge amount of research behind it. It details the struggle of a professional black woman in the US during the early 1900s as she attempts to gain the recognition she deserves. The history of Black Americans has been told through so many narrow channels that this resource offers a breakthrough of factual content along with an inspiring life story. Serendipitously, I have had to manage a second-hand conflict with someone whose background I understood better after reading this book. I may never truly comprehend other people’s perspectives, but I can accept that painful history still shapes the lives of those around me.
The light of perspective nurtures growth and healing. The time to rethink old narratives, consider other people’s perspectives, add the space necessary to abandon the untrue and unworthy, refuse unjust blame while keeping compassion alive, and simply enjoy fresh scenery, offers peace of mind, which is a key ingredient in psychological safety. Mental balance and chosen attitudes go a long way toward positive behavior. In today’s frenetic, overanxious climate, a source of psychological safety might just be a good book.