Dissillusionment

"Disillusionment" is usually thought of as a bad thing, but I think it's a good thing to lose your illusions as early in life as possible. The sooner we're in reality, the sooner we know how to deal with it. Of course, it can be extremely unsettling. I grew up in a small town in the 40s and 50s and everything seemed pretty calm. Of course, I heard about the holocaust and the Chinese prison camps on the radio. But as a child I thought these terrible things were just a fluke and would never happen again. But then in my 20s I learned about poverty, discrimination, cruelty, in our own country, etc. and decided I had to do something about it. I didn't do a great job mostly because I had very little to give. But I did make some difference. In my 40s I learned some more things - how our world treats people with disabilities and this was the worst yet. I began to feel completely crazy. I called it the "evil world syndrome." Luckily by that time I was in recovery and had someone to ask what to do. The best advice I ever had - ask God every day what you can do to make whatever the situation is better - and then do it. I really have not found that hiding my head in the sand and refusing to look at the reality of the world has ever done me any good. Doing something about it even though I don't have much power and not a lot to give has helped me more than I can say.