Projection Protection

by Joyce Shafer

We're all capable of projecting onto others and can self-correct this. What about when others project onto us?

I know two women who engaged in projection last week. The first one has a brilliant and creative mind. She understands the Law of Attraction and lives it. Her life is abundant on every level, which only makes it easier for her to expand her already generous nature. She is authentic in every thought, word, and action in her life and one who lives fully in each present moment. No one who meets her ever walks away and complains they were bored. We'll call her Positive.

The other woman has been on anti-depressant medication for the last several years, in and out of therapy with little to no forward motion in her life, and was unable to remove herself from a toxic relationship until after five years of frustrating her friends to the point they hesitated to pick up the phone when she called. She finally did make a few changes in her life, but is discontent on every level. Nor has she had anything good to say about anyone for a long time. We'll call her Negative.

Negative recently paid a visit to Positive. She ceremoniously sat Positive down and said, "You are not happy and I'm worried about you." Positive was stunned, to say the least. She was also remarkably generous with her remarks to Negative. The next evening, Positive's long-time partner told her that Negative had called him and said she was worried, that Positive was really unhappy. Naturally, this concerned Positive's partner, especially since he and Positive had just spent a happy, relaxing week together.

Positive called me to convey these events. We've been friends for nearly a quarter of a century, so I'm aware that she and Negative have been friends even longer and is why I understood that her feelings about this went deeper than just Negative's erroneous comments.

We are blessed with the gift of emotion and is why we can feel unhappy at times. However, people who are consistently unhappy tend to be those who hesitate or resist taking action in life to create outcomes they prefer, like Negative. They also tend to project their unhappiness and negativity onto those like Positive and bring the adage to mind, "Misery loves company." They tend to be card-carrying members of The Whine Club. Such people bring others to the point of having to either limit their interactions or remove them from their life simply because they are toxic. We are not obligated to keep toxic people in our lives, nor remain in toxic situations. Nor are we obligated to mingle with those who choose to exist in such environments. We can, however, wish them well and move on.

If anyone ever attempts to dump their toxicity on you, before you even consider absorbing one molecule of it, think about what Positive's response was to her partner: Consider the source.
Just as you don't go to anyone who is miserable for advice on how to be happy, question anything a Negative tells you about how reality is. You are your best Source.

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