"The Hard Stuff"

We can’t metabolize cellulose. And that’s too bad, really, because it’s the structural component of plants and that makes it the most common organic compound on earth. We’d have a hard time starving in the woods if it wasn’t for that little ‘detail’. All we’d have to do is munch cedar boughs until someone found us. But as it stands that would do little more than put a bitter taste in your mouth while those bits of foliage ‘passed right through’ without giving you a single calorie’s worth of energy.

Cellulose is the hard stuff. If only we could find a way to metabolize it.

‘Metabolize’ is our word for the process by which our bodies turn food into energy. We eat something, it gets broken down and then we turn it into energy. It’s also a great word to help us visualize a process at work when it comes to the stuff we hear. You receive a group of words that were directed at you, then we ‘break it down’ in our minds as we search for the meaning(s). Then it either becomes a certain kind of ‘energy’ or we turn it into some form of energy ourselves.

As an example – if we receive a compliment, we can break it down and turn it into positive reinforcement. It becomes ‘energy to move forward’ or at least feel positive for a while. But a criticism is harder – and that’s what this post is about.

“If you refuse criticism” it says in Proverbs 13:19, “[The] you will end in poverty and disgrace; [but] if you accept criticism, you are on the road to fame”. Think about that. Criticism is the hard stuff. Finding a way to ‘metabolize’ it could open you up to a whole new source for growth and ‘energy’ and forward movement. If we could learn to ‘metabolize’ cellulose, then there would be almost nothing we couldn’t ‘eat’ in the forest and have it become energy or life. You could say a similar thing when it comes to how we ‘experience’ criticism. If we learn how to receive, digest and benefit from criticism – then there would be almost nothing we couldn’t ‘eat’ when it comes to the ‘forest’ of human conversation.

Sometimes I wonder how much of life is really about learning how to develop a way of thinking which can turn just about anything into a positive conclusion and forward movement. It’s like a kind of ‘mental Judo’. I like that metaphor because Judo is all about finding a way to convert your attacker’s momentum (or energy) into something you can use. In the same way, we can develop a mindset that allows us to turn difficult communication into something we can use for growth.

Can you ‘metabolize’ the hard stuff?

This Sunday we are continuing in our series “Unwritten” about the gaps in our knowledge. As always, we are interested in your feedback and excited about the chance to ‘do life’ together. Join us on Sunday or you can or tune into the podcast through the week.

Have a great weekend,

Chris