How Gossip Blurs the Lines Between Restoring and Rejecting
To get to the point allow me set the stage. Someone we know well, a friend, a loved one, etc. has a fall, makes a bad and publically embarrassing decision, or has a piece of their long forgotten past come back to haunt them. Their world is turned upside down, whether by their poor choices or by other’s choices that we may or may not know about. For a while they stumble, they isolate, and they may even continue on this painful path not fully understanding the weight of the consequences.
But then, whether immediately or further down the road, they stop. They turn around and start heading back to the familiar path they have wandered off from. However, they are now met with obstacle after obstacle and may wonder if they can ever really get back or may lose hope after a while and wonder, “Is even worth it?”
The Obstacles
This piece is not about the fallen – even though the two paragraphs above describe any and all of us at different times during our lives. This piece is about the obstacles that are created by the Gossipers that stand back, watching and waiting to pounce on the next opportunity regardless of whether it is true or not. And just like how the two paragraphs above describe all of us at different times in life, sadly, so too the prior sentence.
The Gossip chooses rejection over restoration. Why? I have a sneaking suspicion that it is easier to point the finger at the obvious offender in the room than to look in the mirror and own their own shadow. (Projection) Another possibility is that the particular target of the Gossip reminds them of someone from their own past who hurt them in a similar way, and with whom that wound has never healed. (Transference) One might even rationalize and justify Gossip because “if it’s true its not Gossip”! Have you ever heard that line before? Have you ever used that line before? What the Gossip fails to understand is that with their own projection and transference of pain it is only themselves they truly have in their crosshairs. The Gossip will either face their pain and get better or take it out on the subject of their gossip, continuing to become bitter.
And so – the human hobbling back to community, seeking restoration, if they are strong enough will withstand these blows and press through – stronger. Wiser. But for the weary soul who cannot stand it any longer and finding no one to offer shelter, sometimes they do an about-face and head back to the rough path they came from. This then allows the Gossip to announce, loud and proud, “See! You see! I told you they weren’t sincere! I told you they were lying! It’s a good thing I was here to warn everyone. Thank G-d I was here!”
Dear Gossip (AKA: any of the 7 billion people on the planet): You speak with cunning only to lie to yourself. You declare the other person a deceiver only to wear the mask of the trickster. You focus on their failure and miss the error of your way.
“Oh, Adam’s sons, how cleverly you defend yourselves against all that might do you good!” – C.S. Lewis
Written by Thaddeus Heffner, LMFT ~ June 5, 2014
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