Reduced to check boxes? But, I am so much more!

Recently, I was filling out an online form for the government.  Each question and my answer were important for the requested service.  I noticed, though, that the more information I supplied, I internally was resisting being reduced to mere check boxes or data!  As a person, I am so much more than what was being asked: there is more to the story of who I am!

Do you feel reduced to a series of check-boxes?

As I reflected on this experience, I wondered about the times when I have assumed or made conclusions about another person: "This is who she is" and "Well, what do you expect from him?"  Similar to an online form, I wonder when I limit people by the specific questions I ask?  Do I reduce other people to less than who they are by listening only for the story I want to hear or understand?

It is as if we have placed each other into well-labeled containers, extracting only the single  definition or one story that pertains to our filters and the way we want to order our lives.

Intricate patterns reveal the depth of who we are

The depth of Who-I-Am and Who-You-Are can only be revealed by continual discovery and revelation.  As we ask more questions of ourselves and others, we Go Deeper into the reality of the Simple Complexity that is incarnate in us.  The designs of our lives and the effects on others ripples out and criss-crosses into patterns unimagined.

We may encounter places that are distant with fences to protect

As we ask questions and wait, ever-listening with reverence, we may find places that are too sensitive or painful to reveal... for now.  It may be that we have erected barriers that protect or keep out people, fears and memories.  Patience, honesty, and holding each other in reverence is important during these times.

For now, we may feel safe behind these barriers.  But there may be a better way!  Dialogue invites us to remove obstacles of misunderstanding, histories of limiting, and cultures of intolerance.  As we remove the barbed comments and move toward curiosity, a new freedom emerges from the shared vulnerability that strengthens us... together.

We may discover places that are sacred: I have worth and value

As we move away from check boxes and containers that constrain or restrain us, we will begin to encounter the Sacredness of the True Person.  These rendezvous points move us beyond the old filters and enlighten us to new possibilities.

This week -- as we wake up to loved ones, complete our tasks, attend meetings, have meals with colleagues and friends -- let us consider the following questions:

• Who am I, and what do I choose to reveal this day?
• When I encounter an emotion that blocks a self-revelation, can I hold that moment with reverence:  naming the emotion; seeking out the barrier; and holding this moment lightly?
•  What do I expect or anticipate from another person, in word and action?  How can I lay these definitions aside and see the mystery that is revealed?
• In what ways can I listen more deeply to Self and Other, anticipating that a gift will be unwrapped in our presence? 

Blessings for week filled with wonderful moments of Mystery!


 

Larry Gardepie