Simply yourself

Luke 14:11 But if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.

How many of us think we have to do something extraordinary to count as a human being? I know growing up I had all sorts of ideas of what I wanted to accomplish in my life, what I wanted to achieve, because then I'd really be somebody. Who I was didn't seem to be quite enough. As I've gotten older, I think I've become more comfortable with who I am, whoever that is, and feel less and less need to add or change or become anything other than what I am. What I am finding in that process is a sense of contentment and inner peace that has eluded me most of my life.

I think what happens is that if I can be just myself, but be fully present with all that that is, somehow, out of that comes something more than I would expect. If I skip along the surface of experience, not quite engaging, not fully experiencing my life, if I am always looking over the next hill for whatever it is that is going to fulfill me, or make my life meaningful, or important, or whatever it is that I think I need, that unwillingness to be present where I am, that skittering off, is the very thing that keeps me from blossoming as a human being, and from being a presence that others see and value. A skilled actor doing the simplest action on stage can draw the attention of the entire audience, and completely captivate us with their presence. Actors are skilled at developing that unity of attention. But I can do this in my life, too, and when I do, when I am able to bring all my attention to this present moment, and really inhabit it, really embody it, there's a way I transcend the ordinariness of my life, and the fullness of that experience hearkens to something more, something beyond the physical plane, something we call spirit, or God. In that moment, by being fully what I am, I become more than what I am.

Prayer: Dear God, So many things distract me from simply being present, and being aware of Your Presence with me. Help me take the time to be, to be content with who and what I am, and use all of that to share You with others. Amen.