Not a Mind Reader by Dr. Lynnette Simm

I have told my daughters, many times, “I am not a mind reader.” I have warned my friends and family, “I am not a mindreader.” Yet there are times when I wish others were mind readers. Think about it. You wouldn’t have to express your feelings into words when you can’t find them. You could mentally repeat yourself without wasting a breath.

People would know when you need something, when you are tired, or sad. Your beloveds would know how much you love them and the depths of your love. Sounds fabulous, right? Not at all! Because in addition to knowing all the thing you want to say, they, everyone, would know all the things you DON’T want to say like everything that races through your mind. All the hurtful, lustful, and horrible angry things that cross our minds would be shared.

Things flash in my brain so fast that I would hate to hurt others or myself because we are all mind readers. So with our family and friends we struggle to communicate. We have to struggle to share our thoughts and our feelings. Some of us still have secrets that we’ve never spoken of, hurts that we’ve never healed from, or dreams we have never shared.

I would like to say that I am an open book. Most people know what I’m feeling because I’m a very expressive person, but even I have times where I can’t, or I don’t want to share what I’m feeling. It sure makes it hard for my family to be there for me, to help me, to support me, and I’m reminded that they are not mind readers.

Recently, I was able to share with somebody how I’m feeling. I was able to share the thoughts that were running through my mind, the insecurities, the jealousy, and the sense of worthlessness. It felt good to say the words out loud and it felt good to cry without judgment. I tell my daughters there will be times where they need to share the feelings in their thoughts and they’re not going to feel comfortable sharing them with me, so I gave them a list of safe people, people that I know who love them and would want the best for them. It’s hard to see them seek out other people than me, but I am so proud of them for sharing their feelings, using their resources, and yes, listening to my amazing advice.

We all need a person to share with. We need someone to listen. Because we’re not mind readers. Sometimes that person that’s going to listen to you is a therapist, or counselor, parent, sibling, family member, mentor, or friend. 

But what I want to share with all of you is that there is ONE who reads our mind and heart whom we all share, and that is God. God knows our every thought, our every emotion, our every feeling, and wow, that can be such a scary thing to think about because we do have negative, inappropriate, or hurtful thoughts, but it is also so comforting to know.

We have a God who hears all of our bad thoughts, all of our negative feelings, and all of our bad deeds AND still loves us. God loves us so completely because he sees all of us not just the parts we can communicate, not just the parts we want to communicate, but HE SEES US COMPLETELY. I so happy God did not make me a mind reader, but I am equally blessed that He can read minds and that I have people to turn to.

Reach out to God. Share with Him all that you are, seek His help to find a person in your life you can trust and share with.