Untangled Mind™, LLC hosted by Piper Harris
Untangled Mind™, LLC hosted by Piper Harris
S4 Ep 39 Zoom In, Zoom Out
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Are you completely zoomed in on your problem?
You're stuck in half-truths, a prison of pain, and you can't seem to find release and wise counsel?
Tune in and learn how to zoom out of your problems and pains although a theological perspective.
#piperharriscoaching #mentalhealth #counseling #Faith
Hi, my name is Piper Harris, and welcome to the Rebuild Your Ruins, a Piper Harris Coaching Podcast. On today's episode, we talk about zooming in on our problems and how we can zoom out utilizing a theological perspective. Keep on listening for actionable steps you can take to find release in your life. Good morning, good morning. Or if you're listening to this in the afternoon or evening, good evening, good afternoon. So this morning I uh had a spark of creativity. Oftentimes when I prepare for podcasts, I sit down, I think about some of the you know key points that I go, I face, I guess I could say, in counseling sessions, and I try to break it down to give you all tools and tips. So I had actually written up a podcast idea about, I don't know, two weeks ago. I went on vacation last week, which was absolutely phenomenal, exactly what the doctor ordered. Um, so it's just been sitting on my desktop. And then this morning, I really was like, you know what? I have something else that I really feel is incredibly powerful. It was for me, and something that I wanted to share absolutely today. So we're talking about zooming in and how we can zoom out. So I'm gonna start off by saying that today we are discussing applicable things that we find in the counseling session, and there are going to be some actionable steps that you can take while listening to this discussion. The difference being is today I really am taking a theological perspective. For some of you, you might know that I'm an active and participating Christian Catholic. So what that means is that my lens of life is always rooted in my faith. Often we're told as counselors that, you know, we can't share our faith, which is true. We don't want to impose our beliefs on those in session, but ultimately, when I become close with my clients, we have spiritual conversations and they ask me questions about my faith. I ask them about where they stand in spiritual terms, all of those things. And I do actually have Christians that take part in session. So it really kind of runs the gamut when I'm working with people in the counseling room, whether they're religious or they're not religious. But today we are really taking a theological view and zooming in and zooming out on our problems so that you all know if you're not an active participant in the Christian faith, I understand, but I really do believe that you will gain some understanding through today's discussion. So hold on and let's get to it. So we're talking about zooming in. Oftentimes I talk to my clients about when we are coming into counseling or we're stuck on a problem, a feeling, we are so hyper-focused or we're zoomed in on the specific feeling or problem. If you can imagine zooming in, it's as if we're looking through this little tiny pinhole. There's blinders all around us, we can't see anything else. Everything's blackened out other than our hyper focus through this itty bitty tiny pinhole. And what happens when we are stuck only looking through this tiny pinhole is that we are constantly stuck on the same feeling or stuck in the same behavior, and we just don't see that there's an option out. So when I talk with my clients, I say, okay, let's learn to expand our view. We've got to zoom out. So there's a lot of different tools that I give my clients to assist them in zooming out. And most notably is my use of CBT, cognitive behavioral therapy, where we really work to reframe our thinking. And the premise behind CBT is that when we're zoomed in, when we're zoomed in, we're hyper-focused on a feeling. And I tell my clients, feelings are not facts. But when we're focused on feelings, then that is leading us to behaviors that are keeping us in pain and trapped. So I say to them, let's look at the thought that's behind this zooming in. What is the thought behind this zooming in? So, for an example, I work with a lot of individuals that deal with extreme anxiety, whether it's from uh, you know, PTSD, whether it's a social anxiety, whether it's a specific phobia. We do a lot, I do a lot of work with individuals with anxiety. And I have to be frank, this is one of the areas of focus that I really do enjoy because I am an anxious person and have had to use these tools over my lifespan as well. So if you take anxiety, take anxiety, what is anxiety? It's worry about tomorrow. And often I have people come in and they ruminate, they chew on it. It's like a cow chewing on their cud, right? So what they're they're chewing on is the what ifs. It's that what if monster that's coming out after them. So they're, well, what if this happens? What if that happens? It's the worry word, it's the ultimate worrier. What we're doing when we're zoomed in on the worry is we're telling ourselves, I'm going to control the future. I'm going to control what happens to me by zooming in, by only worrying and what if in the situation. But what we learn actually, what's happening is it is keeping the individual trapped. It's keeping them trapped in that hamster wheel of worry and anxiety. So even though they thought it was a tool for control and safety, it's actually kept them trapped and in pain. So that's really what zooming in is. When we take depression, for example, we're zoomed in possibly on our past. We're zoomed in what could have been. So we're so zoomed in on what could have been and the pain, say, or the grief of like losing someone that we're so zoomed in on the grief and the pain that we are stuck, we're trapped, we're in a state of grief and sadness. So I work with them to zoom out, and we use the tools that you find in CBT to kind of shift that thinking. And ultimately, when we change our thinking, it makes an enormous effect on the feelings that we believe are facts and we find out they're not. They're just indications of something else in our thoughts. And it really helps us to break free from behaviors. So uh this morning, I woke up like I do every morning. I wake up typically between like 4:30 and 5 30. Yes, I'm that obnoxious morning person. I can't help it, but I also go to bed at 9 p.m. So I'm also a very, very old lady. But I woke up this morning to do my typical, I poured my cup of coffee and I got on the couch and I always start my morning with prayer. Um, and so for me, this is a standard in my life. I'm not a prayer of just one time a day. It's kind of like a conversation all day long. And as a Christian Catholic, this is a foundational to me in my relationship with God. Yes, I don't see him, but I see him active and moving in my personal life and my professional life. And so that time of prayer is sitting down with a friend, having a conversation with him, inviting him into my day, praying over my clients, praying over my family, my loved ones, and whomever I feel that I need to pray for. So after my prayer, I go into my study. And um, my study includes different scripture readings for the day out of the Bible. And right now, um, well, I have been for the last, I guess, six weeks now, seven weeks now. I've been utilizing something called the Hallow app. Um, if you've never heard of it, it is fabulous. It's like a little purple icon. And in fact, it was the most downloaded app that they've seen in years during the Easter season. So the Hallow app is a Christian Catholic app. And what it is, is it's just really full of scripture readings. There's a lot of teaching in there. Um, there's subject matter like um, you know, women's issues, men's issues, just strict, you know, Bible studies. There's all kinds of stuff on there. And so I love the app. So you really need to look into it. Um, but I've been starting on the app in the recent days, ever since Easter, we're going into kind of our season of our Easter season. We call it the octave of Easter in the Catholic Church. And what we're doing is we're studying the book of Acts, A-C-T-S. So if you're not familiar with the book of Acts, it's a fabulous book. It's inspiring. It's like, oh my gosh, did that really happen? And really, what the book of Acts follows is Christ was um crucified and um he was murdered um because he was claiming to be God, which I believe he was God. And so um, those in that that time, the Israelites crucified him, the Romans crucified him because he was standing against um what the Israelites thought was blasphemy against God and what the Romans said was against Caesar. So, all that to be said, they killed Christ. But what we believe as Christians is that he died for everyone's sins, so that um we no longer have to be fearful for eternity. And he rose again three days later. After his rising again three days later, he had initiated right before the apostles and said, I am sending you out to spread, you know, my gospel, to spread the good news. And so the book of Acts is all about these apostles and how they have such strength and fortitude to keep going and sharing the gospel, sharing the Bible's message. Again, there was no Bible back then, um, but the gospel, the teachings of Christ, and to go out in the face of persecution. So I'm starting to read, um, study this uh Acts um, I guess, study on the Hallow app by Dr. Scott Hahn, who is a fabulous apologist and um just really teaches. Um, he gives you context, he gives you history, he gives you fact. Um, so if you want to actually learn about the Christian faith, he's a great person to learn through. So, all that to be said, this morning uh we were going through Acts chapter five. So if you have your Bible um handy, open up to Acts chapter five. And if not, jump on Google and um you can pull that up. So, what's interesting is that that chapter is broken up into three parts. The first part is where we learn about a couple that lies and they die for their lying. The second part of Acts chapter five is about um the apostles, these men that were told to go out and spread the good news, how they were imprisoned and then they were released. And then the third part of this chapter is about receiving wise counsel. So when I was thinking this morning, when I'm reading Acts chapter five, this often often happens, and why I love my work as a counselor is that everything scripturally is applicable to counseling. And I can see that they mold so well together. The reason I have such a love affair, I guess you could say with CBT, is that I absolutely believe that it is um the it's what we're mandated or we're asked to do as Christians, and that's we can find a renewing of the mind while taking thoughts captive through obedience to Christ. Those are kind of a it's a tying in of two different verses I know there, but it really is it just it it every time I see my clients break free of certain thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and I see them renew their minds, I'm like, yes, that is 100% what's happening in the counseling session. And yes, that is 100% what happens when you decide to step into the Christian faith. I just I get so excited about it. Um, and I'm really blessed with some clients. We'll be in session. For example, I had a client yesterday and I've been with them for a really, really long time, and we have such a great relationship. He doesn't really believe in anything, he he's more spiritual, but he wants to hear my excitement about my faith. And he asks questions, and it's such a wonderful experience for both of us to learn from each other. And he teases me. He's like, You get so excited about this stuff, you know. So, um, anyway, all that to be said, I'm I'm I'm diverging this morning. As I was reading through this, it kind of popped into my mind about what problems am I zooming in on? What's the pinhole that I'm looking through? What am I only focusing on? And how is it creating pain in my life? What are those things? And then I applied it to what I'm reading in the scripture. So hopefully I can articulate this in a way that you'll learn something from it, I'm hoping, because in my mind it's kind of a uh a glump of stuff, and um, but I'm I'm so enthused about it that I just had to jump on and record this podcast. So zooming in. Ask yourself, where are you zoomed in on? And this is really hard to be honest with ourselves. And honesty is the first part I want to talk about with zooming in. In Acts, um, the first in Acts 5, the first part is about a couple, and they had gone and sold all of their property and saved some for themselves, and then went and gave the apostles all the money, but what they weren't truthful about saving some of the money. They told a half truth, and ultimately they died for it. And when you read this, you're like, whoa, that seemed severe. They should be able to save some money. And and that's not the point. The point is the half truth. So when we're zoomed in on problems, we're only seeing a part of our view, we're only seeing a part of what's open to us that we can readily grab toward. So, zooming in, we're telling ourselves half truths. Again, I was with a client and we were discussing some things and some options, and they made this suggestion about, well, maybe I'll say this, leaving out this little part over there. And and I saw this look on their face, and we have a really great relationship, and I said, Really? So, how's that gonna feel? Telling a half truth? What's that doing for you? And so we stepped into this half truth. What does the half truth do to us? It creates incongruence. Incongruence leaves us a mess and even hyperfocuses us on that pinhole that we're looking through. So a half truth is almost a death. Does that make sense? When we're not willing to solely be honest, whether it's in a situation, whether it's in a relationship, or whether it's with ourselves, we are continuing to die to that half truth. So ultimately, when we're in the counseling session, I work with my clients as we build our relationship together. I work with them to find full honesty. You have to find full honesty. Why are you stuck in this situation? What is perpetuating this pain? Now, some of you might be listening and going, well, hey, Piper, by the way, I'm coming to counseling because somebody did something to me or I lost a loved one. I hear you and I'm not blaming you. But there's a half-truth that you're also believing in that. For example, grief. I have individuals, it's interesting with the counseling process, it comes in in waves, like different things. And so right now I'm dealing with a lot of grief and a lot of trauma. But with my my grief clients, the ones that are just stuck in such depression, what's the half truth? The full truth is absolutely they are missing their loved one. But what is the half truth that is keeping them stuck, stuck in that pinhole, that zooming in? And we work to find that so that they can find freedom. So, what I found with some of those clients that are stuck in the grief, they're just in so much pain. They're looking, they're zoomed in, they're only looking through that pinhole. Is the half truth is I haven't faced the grief. I haven't done the grieving process. I've just kept myself busy. Or the half truth is as I feel guilt and shame and I need to let it go. There's these half truths that they're there. There's these truths that they haven't faced. They're only looking at half truth and they are dying to that half truth. It is keeping them paralyzed and in pain. So I want you to consider that. What are you zoomed in on where you're not being fully honest? Because I guarantee you, if you're not being fully honest with yourself, with your therapist, with your loved ones, whatever's going on, you are dying to that half truth. Telling a half half truth to ourselves or to others, it doesn't help us. We can't live with that because we're living in incongruence. You're gonna constantly feel like you're fighting against yourself. So that's the first part of Acts 5. Um, you know, this couple that told a half truth and lost their lives for it. So the second part of Acts chapter five is um these apostles, and um, they're led by a man named Peter. And this is a preface off of this. If you don't know much about the the apostles, these are regular old guys that were chosen by Jesus to go and spread the word of him. And if we didn't have these apostles, there would be no faith in the world. Period. They were they they spread the word of Jesus, and it's pretty phenomenal when you study the history, um, how this took place. So, all that to be said, the apostles are going and they are they are um ministering to individuals and talking to them about how you can find life in Christ. And ultimately what they're finding is they're they're running into the same persecution that Jesus did. And so, again, the same, the same characters, the same characters, the Sadducees, Sadducees, um, the high court of the Israelites are saying, you need to stop talking about Jesus or else. And ultimately, what they did is they threw them in prison. But what's really miraculous and amazing about this story is all the apostles are in prison, and then an angel of God opened the prison gates and allowed them out. And so the next day when they were supposed to go stand for trial, the the jailer goes to go get the apostles, and all the doors are locked, but the apostles are not in there. They went back and did what they were told not to do. So if you're not a believer, you're like, yeah, okay, whatever. You know, I don't believe in angels, I don't believe in, you know, the supernatural. Okay, let's just keep on listening. Give me, give me a second. So what happens is they did go find the apostles, and so then what they so these apostles ultimately were found by the jailer, they took them back to the high court, and um they had this discussion that they're not going to stand down, that um they're going to continue to share um, you know, the gospel, they're gonna continue to do that. What's interesting in this part of the study, and I want you to dig more into this because I am not a theologian. I love God, I love Jesus, but I'm not a theologian. So dig into this on your own. But what's interesting is that even though they were released from prison, and even though they weren't killed, because that was the whole point they threw them in prison, is they wanted to kill them, they were beaten before they were left. Okay. So, how does that apply to counseling and you? What I would say is this you are feeling imprisoned by zooming in by your situation. You're feeling like you are in prison, but ultimately you can find release. However, you can find release, you can find freedom, but that doesn't mean you come out unscathed. These apostles were beaten, they had their backs ripped apart by whippings, by all of these atrocities, but they left still declaring joy. And that seems crazy, right? Why would we in our situations be grateful for the pain that we're in? And I'm not saying be grateful for the pain that you're in. What I'm saying is that when we're zoomed in, we feel like we're stuck behind those prison walls. We can't break free. When we're zoomed in on our anxiety, our depression, maybe you're dealing with a personality disorder, maybe you're dealing with gruesome acts that were perpetuated against you. You feel as if you are in a prison. Those feelings are real, and I want to say that I'm not negating those feelings. But when we're only zoomed in on those feelings of imprisonment and of hopelessness, we can't see outside of those prison walls. But zooming out on our situation, getting the full view of what's going on, releases us. And you can find that in the process of counseling. You can find that through learning who Christ is. My clients, and right now I'm doing a lot of exposure therapy. And if you're familiar with exposure therapy, it's a really difficult process. It's typically used for those with trauma or those with really severe anxiety. And what we do is they say, Okay, Piper, I am so stuck in this prison of this trauma, of this thing that's been perpetuated against me. I am in so much pain. I'm so zoomed in on it. I'm going to step into exposure therapy because I know and I've told them research shows when I do exposure therapy, I can find release. But what I can tell y'all is stepping into exposure therapy is like those apostles bending their backs over and taking the whippings and say, I'll take it. Because I know ultimately on the other side of this there will be joy. Oof. When I think about my clients, oof, sorry, y'all, that freely say to me, I can't handle this prison anymore. I'm only focused on this prison and it is ruining my life. Piper, help me. What do I do? And I say to them, we need to step into exposure therapy. And y'all, I have never seen such courage in the face of such pain and destruction. And them saying to me, this pain, this destruction, this prison that I'm living in, I no longer want to live here. So I'm going to step into exposure therapy. And y'all, exposure therapy means I am exposing them to their pain. That's exposure therapy. And I have them recall and recount their exposure, their their trauma over and over and over again. Isn't that horrible? But what science tells us, what research tells us is when we face those things, when we stop just being zoomed in only on that and worrying about it and living in prison, when we zoom out and say, I'm going to face this evil, I'm going to face this thing. What research shows us is in our brain that trauma is no longer re-traumatizing us. It's only a thought. We're remembering. So exposure shifts from living our brain, living in the trauma daily, from constantly being re-traumatized by thoughts to shifting it to a different part of our brain that says, I can remember this and not have to live it over and over again. But they willingly choose to bend over and have their backs scorched. Just like the apostles. That's the counseling process. All counselors are asking you, please trust me. I know you are in prison. I know you're so zoomed in on this pain. Trust me. But it's gonna hurt. But ultimately, what happens on the other side of that, when we do the counseling process and we learn to zoom out of the problem, the fears, the pain, everything that we're imprisoned to, we're finding release. You can actually find joy in it. Back to my clients that are doing exposure therapy. They go through this and they look at me and I say, How are you doing? And they say, I'm numb. I'm so tapped out, I'm so exhausted. And then they pause and they say, I can't believe I could do that. I'm so proud of myself. That's what we ask you to do in counseling. And that's what's happening in Acts chapter five, part two. The apostle said, I believe in this so much. I'm gonna keep on going. I'm gonna take my lashings, and you know what? That's okay. I'm gonna step into it. I'm gonna take this because I know there's joy on the other end of it. Isn't that powerful? Am I the only one that's feeling the power and the emotion behind that? This is this is why I had to I had to jump on and record this today. There's such power. It's so it's so energizing to me. And it's it's so hope-filled for not only my faith and my walk as a Christian, but man, does it give me hope for my clients? I get to witness this every day. What a gift to walk with my clients through their pain. Because I know, I know if they stop zooming in and they zoom out, they are going to walk freely. So the third part of Acts chapter five, we meet a man named Gameleel. I think that's how you need say his name, but he's a really he's like the top dog in um the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He he's like everybody listens to him. And um while the apostles, before they came back to the courts, while the apostles were out spreading um the gospel, he's talking to the high court, and because they they all want to kill him. They all want to kill him. And he says to them, listen, you know, if what these men are saying that God is for them, it's a bad idea if we try to stop them, because ultimately we can't stop them. And so it's interesting, is this man and what church history tells us he actually converted to Christianity. We don't know for sure, but that's kind of what you know it's said. But what's interesting about him is that he's speaking to others about that, you know, ultimately we we have to believe that there's something greater. There's something greater that's pushing us forward and moving us forward. And he's saying it's unwise for us to stand against these men if what they're saying is true. And if what they're saying isn't true, it's just gonna burn out. It doesn't matter. And so what's interesting about that is this how does that relate to my clients? Well, when we're unable to zoom out, um, we are unable to see different viewpoints. We're stuck in those thinking and those feelings and those behaviors. And this man, Gameleel, gave wise counsel. He gave wise counsel. So they didn't kill the apostles, they just whipped them, right? But he gave wise counsel, and that's what I want from my clients is that if you continue to worry, if you continue in your anxiety, if you continue to like try to manage your environments like through hyper control, if you continue to um be stuck in the sadness and depression, what happens is that we become uh stuck in this cycle and we're only looking through our pinhole and we can't see outside of the pinhole where there is wise counsel. Counseling, where'd that come from? Or where there's resources. When you zoom out, you can see there's resources. Okay, I can talk to my friends about what's going on. Okay, I can really start to dig into my thoughts. Okay, I can be brave and face this new diagnosis. But if you're only zoomed in, you only see the pain. If you zoom out, that's where you find wise counsel. That's where you're able to be released, where you're able to find freedom, where you're able to break free from your half-truths. Zooming out, stepping outside of that little tiny pinhole, allows you to find wisdom. It helps you to reframe your thinking, it helps you to face what's really going on. So that's my theology. That's my theology of counseling. That's my theology based on how all of us zoom in so much on our hurt and our problems. And this is one I want to share on a personal note. I'm flipping through my journal because this is part of my study every morning. Is that this morning, as I'm I'm thinking about zooming in and zooming out, I had to ask myself, what am I zooming in on? What have the recent things that I've been zooming in on? And listen, as a counselor, it's so funny. I have clients that say to me, Oh, I didn't you know you dealt with problems. And it makes me giggle every time because I believe if we're good therapists, we number one, are honest that we all have our own problems and troubles. But number two, we need to, you know, do what we're doing asking our clients to do. And so that's a huge practice in my life too. So I sat there considering everything that I learned through the study of Acts chapter five and thinking about how is this applicable to our lives and how is this applicable to my life. I had to say, okay, what am I zoomed in right on right now? What has been the recent zoom ins that I felt imprisoned to? So the first was I've been having a lot of health problems. Y'all, 44. This year, I'm telling you, the warranty busted. It's busted. So year 44 has been extraordinarily difficult for me. And I've had to face some unsettling health stuff. So I was zoomed in on that. And for a few weeks there, I just I was so afraid. I was so zoomed in. Uh, other issues I was zoomed in are, you know, office drama. Everybody has it. I was so zoomed in on these relationships that it was keeping me captive to only looking at the negatives, only looking to, oh, this is what's happening, blah, blah, blah, that I couldn't zoom out and see the blessing of you know my clients. I was really zoomed in, I was really self-centered in the matter. Um, so there were these things that I knew I was extraordinarily zoomed in on. But what's interesting, the whole kind of overlying point I want to make about not only our zooming in, and not only this Acts chapter five, is what we find in that, what we find in both, is that we will always be imprisoned if we're zoomed in. If we zoom out, that's where we find, you know, that we find our freedom, we find our release. We'll break free of these half truths, you know. Like with me, with my medical diagnosis, it's like uh this is how it's gonna be. 44 sucks. This is what's going to happen. I have to face this. Okay, or not even face this, I'm just focused on it, right? But when we zoom out of that, I can say to myself, hold on a second, I can step back from this. What are what are my resources? What can I do? I'm gonna seek wise counsel, I'm gonna be honest with myself. But through it all, through it all, I am still suffering. I can't remember who said it, but there's like three promises in life. One was we'll always work, one or two is that there will always be an unknown. And number three is we'll always suffer. It's kind of a promise in this life. And what scripture, what we believe as Christians, is that we're asked to pick up our cross, to bear our cross. When Christ was crucified, he was asked to carry the wooden cross himself after he was beaten, and then they nailed him up there. It's um crucifixion was a horrific way to kill people. Um, but what we say as believers is I'm going to take up my cross because I know the joy that is outside of that bearing the cross. Does that make sense? So when we are zoomed in, all we feel is the pain. When we zoom out, we say, okay, I can bear the pain because I know on the other side of it I'm going to find release and joy. So I'm going to carry this cross. I'm going to carry this affliction. I'm going to carry this diagnosis. I'm going to carry the fact that I haven't been honest with myself or others. I'm going to carry that. I need to break free of my thinking patterns. I'm going to carry this cross and recognize I need to break free of my addictions. All of these things is a cross to bear. We're not saying it's fair. We're not saying it's pain-free, but you're saying I'm going to step into this and I'm going to bear it. I'm going to carry it with me because I know if I do that, if I persevere, there will be change. So when I was considering my zooming in and I asked myself, what are the crosses I am choosing to bear? Rather than thumbing my nose at God and saying, seriously, you're going to give me yet another health problem. I've had a lot, y'all. Rather than doing that and just focusing on myself and just being angry, I can zoom out and say, okay, there's a reason behind this. I'm going to carry this and I'm going to zoom out, not focus just on me and the pain that I'm enduring and all the frustrations. I'm going to zoom out and say, okay, what are my resources? How can I use this? How can I find freedom from this? When it comes to office issues, I was so zoomed in on it, so annoyed, so frustrated. I know you all get that too. That I was stuck. I was like miserable. So I choose to bear some of the frustrations, some of the annoyances. All of us have those. I chose to bear those and zoom out. And what do I see when I zoom out? Yes, they're still there, but I can bear them because when I zoom out, I have the gift of people coming to me. I have the gift of walking with them, of helping them bear their cross, and willingly saying, I'm stepping into this because I know what's on the outside. When I zoom out, I'm able to work with people and help them recognize the incongruence that they're living in because of the half-truths that they've been listening to. When I zoom out, I have the blessing of saying and seeing people break free, excuse me, say seeing them break free from their prisons. They've been released. What I have the blessing of seeing when I zoom out is that they're seeking me out. Clients are seeking me out for wise counsel. But remember, I told you before about a client, we have these great spiritual conversations. I'm seeking with wise counsel as are they. It's a learning together process. So my life is encouraged. I am encouraged to take up my different crosses. I am encouraged to continue to maintain and move through the pain because of what my clients are teaching me. Y'all have so much wisdom. Y'all say something to me in your session, and it sits with me for days, for weeks, for months. Not in a painful way, but in a oh my gosh, they are so wise. They are so courageous. I wish I had more of what they have. So bearing all of that in mind, you can tell I'm a little excited about this today. Are you zooming in? Are you looking through the pinhole? Are you only focused on your pain and suffering? Are you stuck in a prison? Are you telling yourself half truths? Because listen, you're gonna die to those half truths, and that's the prison, the pain. Or do you want to zoom out? Do you want to expand your view? You're no longer looking through a pinhole. You are looking at everything that's around you. You're receiving wise counsel, you're finding resilience, you're finding resource, you're finding different options. You might even find a faith in Jesus. You're finding strength, you're asking for help. But that's what zooming out does for you. So choose. Zoom in or zoom out. Which one are you gonna choose today? That brings us to the end of this episode. Thanks so much for joining me. If you're curious about some of the topics we touched on today, go check out and download the Hallow app, H-A-L-L-O-W, to increase your spiritual and faith-filled life. And if you're hoping to be released from your prison, seek wise counsel, learn more about my graduate student counseling at piperharris.net. Again, I hope you learned some things that are going to equip you to continue in rebuilding the ruins of your life. If you've enjoyed the show, please rate and review me on your podcast listening platform and share it with your friends and family. As always, thanks so much for listening to the Rebuild Your Ruins, a Piper Harris coaching podcast. I'll talk with you next time.