" Self-Righteous ... "

“ Everyone is so self righteous

Where have you sinners gone?

All you sinners

What's ours is ours

And we're all alone

It's just a shower

And then I feel you breathe

And I let go of the hours

And I feel your skin

Again and again

I feel the hours

Sliding by

Get up on your own now

Way up all alone now “

~ Third Eye Blind ~ Self Righteous ~

***

Filled with indignation about the behaviour of others ... Worked up, frustrated and angry ... so what’s this all about?  ... Self-righteous.

When you are filled with or show conviction of being morally superior or more righteous than others ... also known as smug ... you are being self-righteous, plain and simple.  You don’t agree, fair enough ... but it is about feeling superior to someone else.  And if you think that you are NOT one of those people ... think back to the last time you were driving.  Yes, that is righteous indignation.  I mean who the hell do they think they are to cut ME off.  What a loser, and we must honk our horn loud and long so that others can see how bad they really are.  Yes, that is righteous indignation.

So if you are still unsure if someone or YOU are sitting in self-righteous indignation, check your dialogue.  Are you hearing words like right, fair or should?  And if we are truly honest, we recognize that makes people with low self esteem feel good.  Because there is a feeling of being RIGHT.  By pointing out the errors of someone else, we are attempting to position ourselves as better than them.  

Honesty is one thing, self-righteousness is another ... 

regardless, we can always be kind

When you think your life sucks, you are the most susceptible to this behaviour because by finding someone you believe to be less than or worse than ourselves and condemning them, you manage to feel some sort of superiority.  You become judge and jury.  Hence, the first step is to recognize that you possess a guilty pattern of self-righteousness.  The next step is to minimize it or eliminate it ... and here as some thoughts ...

• rather than deciding on what people should be doing, look at what they are doing and decide how to react AKA Accept What IS
• examine your motives and ask why? AKA are you projecting?
• tap into your feelings and examine the effects it has on your present life AKA how much energy and time will you dedicate to this?

It is hard to admit that you may have identify with this.  And you don't have to, out loud that is.  But there is also realization that self-righteousness comes at a high cost because if you can only bring yourself up by putting others down, there is some soul searching required.  Deep within, your higher self, spirit, knows better ...

The hardest people to reach with the love of God are not the bad people ... they know they are bad ... they have no defense ... the hardest ones to win for God are the self-righteous people ~ Charles L Allen

www.walkstrong.ca