I've been remiss...

Greetings and peace!

My apologies for not staying as current as I would like with the blog this week. I am beginning a new job that is completely engaging my time, energy, and creativity so that I haven't had much left for these reflections this week. As you may have seen from previous posts, my interests professionally and pastorally involve the intersections of adult learning & development/spiritual maturation/ & leadership.

In these past two blogs, I've been considering the nature of the true self, that deep down sense that we are precious and beloved in the eyes of the Divine, though we are imperfect and will never be perfect. It strikes me that this is not easy for people to really accept. If we come to the world with a dualistic operating system (the tendency toward either/or, "black and white" thinking), we have a hard time believing that we could be lovable without being perfect. Or we may accept it as an idea, but still struggle with accepting it in our hearts. To accept that I can be simultaneously a sinner and be loved without conditions might feel like a contradiction.

Now, we've all been there... either/or thinking is a natural part of our growing up, especially in adolescence. If we have an especially strong tendency in that way of perceiving and making sense of the world (like Holden Caufield in the Catcher in the Rye-- intolerable of "phoniness") we will probably tend to be hard on ourselves and fairly judgmental of others. But if that dualistic operating system doesn't get upgraded, we can stay that way all our lives. This is very problematic in such a complex world where the black and white ways of seeing tend to miss all the gray areas, oversimplifying life into easy categories and cliches.

But if the conditions are right, if we have the right balance of supports and challenges in our experience and a decent amount of courage, openness, and faith, we can evolve from the dualistic operating system to the dialectical (both/and) way of seeing the world and making meaning. This will mean that we can appreciate the gray areas, live with ambiguity, and even come to cherish paradox. If I am not mistake, love plays a key role in helping is evolve along these lines... being loved despite and even including our imperfections. Such love gives us hope, not so much for perfection, but a kind of integrity and wholeness that includes and transcends our limitations, foibles, and failings.

Cheers, and have a great Friday!