4/23/2024
Did you know that a blindfolded person can’t walk straight? It’s true. Jan Souman, a research scientist in Germany, co-wrote a paper last year about this human tendency to walk in circles. There have been several different hypotheses as to why this phenomenon occurs, including one leg being longer than the other, right or left-handedness dominating our choices subconsciously, left-brained vs. right-brained thinking, and more, but all of these have been debunked.
While there is no clear explanation as to why, what is clear is that humans tend to walk in circles when there is a lack of an external focal point like the sun, the moon, or a mountaintop.
This got me thinking about all the times I’ve ended up walking in metaphorical circles, unable to break away from thinking patterns or habits in my own life. It got me thinking about the human condition apart from God, our spiritual focal point. How many of us end up making the same choices and ending up in the same broken-down places despite our determination to never be back there again? And yet, we find ourselves at the bottom of an empty bottle or in yet another dysfunctional romantic relationship. Why? How does this keep happening to us?
The reality is many of us tend to rely on our own intuitions, our own judgments when making daily life decisions, rather than looking to the Son, our spiritual focal point. Much like a walker lost in the woods, we end up walking in circles, failing to break away from familiar patterns, regardless of whether we like those patterns or not.
We need to rely on God’s direction for our lives if we want to break free from these cycles. The Bible says that our own emotions are deceitful. There is a reason why we should rely on God’s judgment rather than our own when it comes to what is best for our lives. We can quite easily fool ourselves. And thinking critically about it all, who would know better about what is best for us than God, our Creator, the one who made us and knows us better than we do ourselves?
So here’s a reminder to let God be the GPS of your life. Look to Him for guidance and direction in how He says to live your life. Well, unless you like walking in circles.
-Jackie