Reaching Out

 I have to always take care that when I try to reach out to others, I’m not actually reaching down. Lack of humility will make me feel that sense of  “I know and you don’t, so I will magnanimously teach you”. What a crock! I am learning, day-by-day, and a huge part of that process is listening. When I listen to the wisdom of others, I grow in my personhood. I can learn from the recovered alcoholic as well as from the ones who are still searching for their own serenity. We all have morsels of strength and nuggets of knowledge to offer.

That lack of humility has been a recurring theme for me. The way it manifested most often (and can still pop up) is in the resentment of feeling that everyone else knew what they were doing, while I was at sea. When I recognize that in others, it is my job to hear and acknowledge what they have to offer while they don’t think that’s a possibility. I see you; I hear you; I value you because you have value.

When I feel that sense of knowing better than someone else, I recognize that as a moment to remember who we all are, and that at some point along my path, I have experienced the other side of the coin. Who taught me? What did I learn? Can I know what another person is thinking or feeling? All I can do is apply those ways of living which I have found to be enlightening, and offer to share whatever another person is open to receive. 

If I can be an instrument of peace, God, show me how. May I always be willing.

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