Have you ever left your house without your keys? You walk to the car and realize your keys are in the house. At that point, you need to go back in and get them, or you won’t get very far. Sure, you could just walk, but that tiny little resource (a key) is worth going back in your daily journey to pick up so you can apply it in the proper context (your car) and move down the road at a much greater rate.
I think maybe we’ve placed too much emphasis in this culture on moving forward, continually growing, developing, and evolving. Doubtless that is the intention of the overall arch of our lives – to grow and become more of what God intends for us. But I think backwards movement along the path isn’t necessarily negative. It’s just often painful and difficult, because when I recognize the landscape as being familiar, I take that as a cue to be disappointed, upset, guilty, or angry. But it’s often necessary for us to go back over old ground in our lives to pick up things we didn’t learn the first (or second, or third) time. It’s not a judgment against me or a failure – it’s simply where I am on the journey.
In my mission statement, I wrote that I believe you are always moving forward or moving backward, and to always move forward, I do certain things. But I’m starting to realize that maybe I should cut myself (and others) slack when I see myself moving backward. Perhaps I’m going back to pick up a key I missed the first time.
Showing posts with label growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label growth. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
A Metaphor For Personal Growth
Last October, I was in the Bahamas with some friends of mine for a conference called "Soularize", which is characterized as a "learning party". Richard Rohr, Brennan Manning, and NT Wright were also there. Those names may or may not mean anything to you, but suffice it to say it was cool. We had a blast, of course.
On one of our last days there, I was sitting on our hotel room's balcony, looking out at the ocean. On the horizon I could see the lights of a cruise ship. It was apparently anchored, since it didn't appear to be moving. I turned my attention to the palm trees being blown by the wind and the surf. When I looked up a few minutes later, the ship was in a different place on the horizon. Yet if I stared at it, I couldn't see any movement at all.
I think growth is like that. If we constantly examine and measure ourselves, we're going to see very little movement from moment to moment, day to day. We'll appear as that ship - like we're not moving. But if we just turn our attention to doing what we can each day, and take note of where we happen to be on a regular basis, we'll look back and be amazed at the level of growth and transformation that has occurred in our lives. Asian cultures refer to this concept as "chopping wood and carrying water" - doing what we need in each moment and not concerning ourselves with "things too wonderful" for us.
The way I take note is just to write down on a regular basis (not daily, but several times per week) what I'm going through, the questions I'm living in, and what I feel God is showing me about life, about me, and about Him. I've been journaling in this way for nearly eight years, and it's easily the most powerful personal growth tool I have.
Like that ship, we're always moving. We're either moving toward God and toward our true selves, or we're moving away from God and ourselves. Which way are you moving in the various aspects of your life? How do you know?
On one of our last days there, I was sitting on our hotel room's balcony, looking out at the ocean. On the horizon I could see the lights of a cruise ship. It was apparently anchored, since it didn't appear to be moving. I turned my attention to the palm trees being blown by the wind and the surf. When I looked up a few minutes later, the ship was in a different place on the horizon. Yet if I stared at it, I couldn't see any movement at all.
I think growth is like that. If we constantly examine and measure ourselves, we're going to see very little movement from moment to moment, day to day. We'll appear as that ship - like we're not moving. But if we just turn our attention to doing what we can each day, and take note of where we happen to be on a regular basis, we'll look back and be amazed at the level of growth and transformation that has occurred in our lives. Asian cultures refer to this concept as "chopping wood and carrying water" - doing what we need in each moment and not concerning ourselves with "things too wonderful" for us.
The way I take note is just to write down on a regular basis (not daily, but several times per week) what I'm going through, the questions I'm living in, and what I feel God is showing me about life, about me, and about Him. I've been journaling in this way for nearly eight years, and it's easily the most powerful personal growth tool I have.
Like that ship, we're always moving. We're either moving toward God and toward our true selves, or we're moving away from God and ourselves. Which way are you moving in the various aspects of your life? How do you know?
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