The Whole Truth

I am in the middle of a moment where things I've been reading, studying, listening to and pondering along with life experiences are all culminating into a mega epiphany. Having this experience serves as a red flag for me to write! The best way I know of to really grasp and internalize a new principle is to write about it.

Today I was listening to a classic conference call from LEMI entitled “SayGoBeDo” which in a nutshell talks about following inspiration, promptings and/or revelation from God. For example, we may have a thought to call a friend or have a feeling to spend time with a child. During the discussion one of the mentors said, “To become charactered, we need to be motivated by serving others.” When I heard that all the pieces of the puzzle came together perfectly and I saw truth clearly.

The whole purpose I am seeking to educate myself and my children is to help us develop or become charactered. And yet as I read Bonds That Make Us Free: Healing Our Relationships, Coming to Ourselves (yes I’m still working on that one) and Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box by the Arbinger Institute, I learn that how I regard others or how I truly feel about them will be communicated to them regardless of what I am actually saying.

In Leadership and Self-Deception in teaching this principle, one of the characters asks this poignant question, “When you’re going out of your way to do all those things for Leon so that he’ll know you have an interest in him, what are you most interested in—him or his opinion of you?” Yikes! If I am painfully honest with myself I would have to say the latter would answer for the majority of my interactions with others. I am having a sort of out-of-body experience lately as I see myself communicate with others in such a self-centered way. It’s as if my mind knows what is right but my body is on auto pilot just doing what it has always done and there seems to be no way to stop it!

Of course that is not true. Recognition is the first step to change. As I practice getting “out of the box” or viewing others as fellow human beings with hopes and struggles just like me, I can focus outward and serve others on a more meaningful level which is truly my heart’s desire. Practice makes perfect : ), right?