A thought by Bob Goff in his book, Undistracted (p. 27). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)
Is that true of you?
Bob says, "We construct walls and put up our bulletproof glass so nothing can hurt us. Sadly, we can spend our entire lives constructing a façade of security and safety, when inside we are just scared people in need of a friend."
He continues, "Do you need the courage to admit, even now, that you have been pretending to be something you are not? Are you a prisoner needing space to get real? Have you been distracted by your need to never seem weak or afraid or vulnerable? Are you spending weird amounts of time trying to control the people around you because your life on the inside is out of control? How much energy is that taking out of you—energy you could pour into something bigger and more beautiful than your insecurities?"
He goes on, "We’re all inwardly insecure to some degree. What shrouds this from view is that each of us deals with our insecurities differently and, as a result, only some of us look outwardly insecure. Some people can speak in public while others can’t. Some people are afraid of spiders, and others collect tarantulas. Some people get quiet as a church mouse when they are insecure, and others get mean as a rattlesnake. If you want to dazzle God, don’t ignore, dismiss, or deny your insecurities, and don’t overlook other people’s odd behaviors as the groans of insecurities make their way to the surface. Understand and embrace these things instead. Don’t let them take you prisoner. Figure out where they came from and send them back there. Master these feelings when they’re blocking your way forward, and choose to live undistracted by them. We are not the average of the five most insecure people who have opinions about us; we’re the product of the several most focused and undistracted people we successfully imitate."
Bob then says, "None of this is easy because we all live incredibly conflicted lives. It just comes with the package of being human. Paul, a writer of many of the letters in the Bible, said he was frustrated that he kept doing the things he didn’t want to do and didn’t do the things he longed to do. (Romans 7:15) I can relate to that, and I bet you can too. The reason is simple. Life is full of push; life is full of pull. What I mean is, we are pushed by our insecurities and pulled by anything we think will help us avoid looking as insecure as we actually are. We’re fickle creatures, and sometimes it’s hard to know if we’re coming or going.
"So how do we connect who we are with who we want to be when each force is tugging us in a different direction? We’re not unlike Peter Pan, who got separated from his shadow. You remember the scene. Peter is bouncing around the room chasing his shadow, which is no longer attached to him. This is where most of us live—detached, distracted, and frantic but trying to look like we’re not. After Peter chases his shadow around the room as it bounces off of the walls and ceiling, he eventually catches up to it. Peter doesn’t need a bunch of information in this moment; he needs a friend to help him get reconnected with his shadowself. Peter wants to use soap to reattach his shadow, but thankfully Wendy breaks out a needle and thread for a more permanent fix. People who live with purpose are willing to be sewn back together; they’re willing to admit they’re separated in the first place, and they’re willing to have some safe friends get involved to help put them back together."
So let's be honest and be willing? Yes, yes! #continethought
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