Reflection
When we live superficially … we are always outside ourselves, never quite ‘with’ ourselves, always divided and pulled in many directions … we find ourselves doing many things that we do not really want to do, saying things we do not really mean, needing things we do not really need, exhausting ourselves for what we secretly realize to be worthless and without meaning in our lives.
Thomas Merton
Prayer
Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me.
Psalm 43:3
Action
What are the things that cause us to live superficially? How do they creep into our lives? Examine your life. Does Merton’s description apply? What can you do?
Suggested Reading
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1
Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Psalm 25:5
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway.
Mother Teresa
More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.
Roy T. Bennet
A liberated person abdicates from society’s expectations and embraces living an authentic life undeterred by external determinates.
Kilroy J. Oldster
You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.
Maya Angelou
You’ll never know who you are unless you shed who you pretend to be.
Vironika Tugaleva
Learn to be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.
Henri Frederic Amiel
When you are in alignment with your authentic self, nothing is impossible.
Jiulio Consiglio
We need to find the courage to say no to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity.
Barbara De Angelis
The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.
C.G. Jung