Day 21
Becoming Real
Reflection By: David

".without self-knowledge one cannot know another," and until your focus becomes external - away from "me" onto "another", communication and relationships will never truly achieve honesty, depth and love.

I have heard it said that the energy and ambition of youth is wasted on the young, but I think that the physical energy that they possess is where it belongs, fueling them as they challenge life to gain a foothold and assume responsibility for their own well-being, while those of us who have experienced the slowing of age and lessening of energy find that we must adapt to a more introspective and reflective approach to life. It is during this "slowing" of activity that we will begin to gain that self-knowledge that will allow us to examine the position in life that our earlier energy has brought us, and to begin a re-positioning as we gain a more mature and hopefully spiritual perspective on our existence. And it is only during this less-active, self-reflective period that our focus will move towards embracing others in deep and meaningful relationships - from a "me" focus to "you".

So what insights has my reflective period brought to me? That after years of hard, energetic effort attacking life to gain status, possessions, love and security I find that I had them already! Status: I am a child of God, made in His image. Possessions: I have Grace after Grace bestowed upon me by God the Father. Love: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son." Security: I have been presented with a key that opens the door to eternal salvation and everlasting life by my Lord, Jesus. So it would seem that it is not the results of my energetic efforts to build a life for myself that are important, but the using-up of that youthful energy - of getting it out of my system so I would have to slow down and be able to see the truths of life.

And the truth is this: It's not about me, it's about others. And because I now know that God is about me, then I can be about you. And now that I can be about you - about another rather than myself, then I will continue to grow towards intensely honest, revealing, loving and caring relationships.

Grace and Peace to you.