No one is exactly who they think they are, who they perceive themselves to be. Ask ten of the people closest to you, especially those who work closely or live with you for their raw, unfiltered thoughts about you. I think we can say with a degree of surety that there will be elements of what they say that may be surprising, perhaps even shocking at how they perceive you.
When you think you are understanding and compassionate, someone else may think you to be cold and reserved. You may think of yourself as gentle, only to be called out for being harsh in your interactions with others. You may think you are humble, only to realize that your ego runs deep and what you thought to be humility is a “pretty” covering over pride.
We have different facets of ourselves held up to the light at various times in our lives.
Even at a basic level, if you were to hold an object before you, everyone around you would see different angles, hues, different facets, contours and colors. No one person would see it all and no two people would see it the same. And if you are the one holding up the object and if there was some attachment to it, your perspective would be highly influenced by your personal feelings.
Looking at ourselves from a 360 degree perspective is an essential part of the process for doing your inner work. First, let me be clear. God’s perspective and His grace for you is primary. He reveals Himself to us which often leads us to have deeper self-knowledge as we slowly learn to see Him in ourselves and ourselves in Him.
Secondly, He calls us to be His co-laborers and in a very real way, one of the hardest portions of His vineyard is the work within our own hearts – our own inner work. Pruning, cutting back and cutting off are often essential elements of our inner work simply because the areas that do not foster growth need to be removed in order to make room for new growth, new life.
Being open to the 360 degree feedback around us opens up marvelous avenues of a great, potentially life-changing transformation. It’s a pathway of growing in self-knowledge, growing in humility, discovering hidden gems, refining one’s vision, being surprised, learning, unlearning and re-learning, training oneself to see a multiplicity of perspectives.
Many of us are afraid of what we will hear. True. It is a fearful thing simply because one never knows what others will say. We tend to pick up and hang on to all the negatives. But in the light of eternity, are the “negatives” truly negative when we are speaking of the immensity and grandeur of our dignity as men and women made in the image and likeness of God, striving to more and more be like Him and come to the fullness of our calling?
However, we are where we are in life. And so, for today, just take one step. Do one thing that opens your mind and heart to something different. Take one of your thoughts and turn it around to see different possibilities. Take one of your judgments and turn it around to see other perspectives. These small steps, added one after another, are all a part of the inner work needed to keep growing. God supplies all the graces needed in this life journey and the fruit of this kind of labor is beyond our imagining simply because it opens us up avenues unbeknownst to us at this time. It is a great leap of faith. It is also an amazing adventure because it is a journey deeper into the Heart of our Heavenly Father and a journey of true self-discovery.
Sister Mary Scholastica, O.C.D.
# # #
Image credit: Photo via Unsplash+
Please help spread the Gospel. Share Sister’s post with family and friends on Facebook and other social media.
This article appears here with the kind permission of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. To learn more about their community and work, read their biography below and visit their website.
We encourage you to support the work of the sisters with your prayers and through donations and planned giving. Click here to learn more..
If you hear God calling you to the religious life, I encourage you to visit their vocations page. – Deacon Mike
Or for more information, please contact:
Vocation Directress
920 East Alhambra Road
Alhambra, California 91801
To learn more about the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, read their biography below and visit their website.
We encourage you to support the work of the sisters with your prayers and through donations and planned giving. Click here to learn more..
If you hear God calling you to the religious life, I encourage you to visit their vocations page. – Deacon Mike
Or for more information, please contact:
Sister Maria Goretti, O.C.D., Vocation Directress
920 East Alhambra Road
Alhambra, California 91801
