by Bill Cottringer

Psychology is just a tool to help people find, get, and give “it,” whatever it turns out to be. 

        I have a theory that, as adults, we can learn much from analyzing the childhood games we played as kids.  One such game is “Hide & Seek” I think this is what we have done with “IT.” What exactly is IT?

“IT” is something we all know about but have a difficult time describing, let alone finding, getting, and giving it. That may be partly due to the dictionary’s vague definition of the word, as “an abstract entity.” That doesn’t help us much at all. We just know that it is the stuff that helps fill the void inside, but enough never seems to be enough. At the end of the day, the hunt turns out to be both the journey and the destination.

   Let me take a stab at capturing the essence of the word. IT stands for something BIG. It is worth more than anything in the world. There is nothing comparable to it. It is the intimate reunion with the loving spirit of God that brings all the collateral good stuff we only think has primary value.  It is the only thing that can fill our nagging, empty void with as a complete sense of meaning, satisfaction and peace that are available. It is a complete and utter fulfillment that transcends all other experiences. It makes happiness, success, and pleasure seem like stale bread when we are stuffed, as compared to a gourmet seven-course banquet when you are famished. It is mega-fantastically awesome. There is nothing else like it. Wow!

Finding IT

    Somewhere along the line somebody made “IT” very elusive. But there is a trick here. The reason it seems to be invisible is that it is so close to you that it is difficult to notice. After all, the obscure takes a while to see but the obvious, even longer. We have all unknowingly been playing a game of “hide and seek” with it. And what a great hiding place to put it. Too close to see! Right under your nose. Ironically, we’ve never actually been without it. That illusion only appears to be so because we have been spending so much time and effort looking for everything else other than “IT.” We failed to notice what we weren’t noticing.  It has always been there, right under our nose. Free, but too close to see! Mine but too hard to find.

Getting IT.

   The first time you get it, you are overwhelmed and convinced you have gotten all of IT.  However, the first dose of it is only the beginning of a long, interesting journey. You get to spend the rest of your life getting more of IT in different ways and in different doses. Now we have to be shockingly honest with ourselves here. None of us ever knows for certain that we have it, for sure. We just think we do and believe that to be true . It may be that this slight doubt we have is what helps us recognize it again when we find it again. That is just an ingenious way to make the hide and seek game more interesting and challenging. OOPS, where did I put it? I know I’ve seen it somewhere.

Giving IT

   Once we find it and start getting it, we want to give it to others. This drive starts a serious struggle with self-development. We have finally found the most important thing in life, but we really aren’t certain for sure that we have it, and now we have to figure out how to give it to others. It is just too good to keep secret. We are beside yourself wanting to share it. After trying everything from anonymous charitable work, to courageous heralding to praying hard, we can no longer escape the dreadful but inevitable conclusion that our successes haven’t been much to brag about. Finally, we give in and put it back to where you found it.  Right under everyone else’s noses. It is still there but just hard to see. You give it by becoming it. The more you become it, the easier it is for others to see. Part of the game has been to hide it, but not so well that it can’t be found again.