“Time is a purgatory that has cleansed all fury from my memory.”
Sándor Márai
I’ve been reading a lot about the mindset of the world at the moment. More specifically the mind zeitgeist of Americans currently. Are we experiencing mental purgatory due to the state of events taking place in the world?
I am a political junkie, sometimes much to my detriment. I am prone to mindless scrolling and political scrolling on social media. After I get sucked into reel after reel, I realized an hour has passed. I left that time scrolling empty and angry. After I sat and chastised myself for that useless time suck, I came across a quote: You live most of your life inside your head. Make sure it is a nice place to be. Yikes. I was in mental purgatory.
What is mental purgatory?
Mental purgatory can be any place or situation in which suffering is felt to be sharp but temporary. It’s like waiting for the results of a particularly hard medical test. What kind of treatment will I need? Will the treatment help and heal? Only this time of waiting will tell. It’s a daunting and unprecedented purgatory. America feels much like this at the moment.
What can we do when caught in the purgatory funk?
Find something good each day. No matter how small. Tape a scripture to a mirror to remind yourself of your faith. This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24. Make that the starting thought to your day. I said in my last article to step away from the comments section. Live less on the internet, interact more in real life.
Set boundaries of news consumption, political consumption and needless worry
Jesus very beautifully said in Matthew 6 to not be consumed by worry. Look at the birds in the air, God feeds them. The flowers grow under God’s gracious care. As we wring (much like a wet rag) our minds with mental worry, God is there to give us peace of mind. Seek God’s kingdom through prayer and meditation and ponder the blessings that surround our lives. Set those boundaries in a real and meaningful way.
Take small steps each day to change your mindset or in the words of my friend, “Stop the doom scrolling”
A friend of mine came to church in a bit of a funk recently. When I asked him what was on his mind, he told me that the algorithm had figured out that he was prone to doom scrolling. He indulged the algorithm with much might. It completely impacted his mood. Mindlessly doom scrolling is unfulfilling and muddles your mind.
Change your fury to fire
Light the fire of goodness in your mind. Consume meaningful content that helps you to learn. A person can have between 6,000 and 70,000 thoughts a day. If a lot of those thoughts are devoted to doom scrolling can you imagine the product? Be mindful of your scrolling. Find things that can light the match of learning and goodness in your mind and spur you to be a better person.
Renew your mind
Next, you must put into practice renewing your mind. In Romans 12 the scripture says: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Flip the mind switch from purgatory to renewal.
Forgive yourself if you get caught in mental purgatory and start again
Finally, forgive yourself if you get caught up in doom-scrolling and mental purgatory, pick yourself up and start again. Pray for our country’s zeitgeist and humanity. I leave you with the words of Gandhi: “Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions. Consider and judge your actions, for they have become your habits. Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny.”
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