While relationships can (and have) deformed us and caused us to hide our souls and languish because of it, authentic, generous, and kind community can heal and transform us into the splendor of Christ’s light in us. Third in the series: “Flourish: How to Bring Out the Best in Yourself.” This week is an invitation to the spiritual practice of authentic community. It’s a meditation based on Acts 9.17, 2 Corinthians 5.17, and this quote from Anais Nin: “Everyone of us carries a deforming mirror where we see ourselves as too small or too large, too fat or too thin . . . . Once the deforming mirror is smashed, there is the possibility of wholeness, there is the possibility of joy.”
1.
If we are going to flourish, we will find ways to practice what I call “deep self-inquiry”—if we do, we will, as I said two weeks ago, discover that we are probably far more than we’ve become. Or as I said last week, “We’ve got more inside us than we ever dared to dream.” If we practice deep self-inquiry, we will discover that who we’ve become may not be, in fact, the fullness of who we truly are. And we will discover that the painful, frightening, and unwelcome experiences of our lives often invite us to wake up to the truth that we may not yet be living from our true identity—from the depth of our soul’s true goodness, beauty, and power.
This journey of our soul, the journey into flourishing, will require courage, a gutsy vulnerability.