Sunday, October 24, 2021

"I need a shot at redemption..." (Paul Simon)

 

Redemption

“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Never throw anyone out.”

Audrey Hepburn

          I get so tired of myself sometimes. Being an intuitive-thinking-judging type (on the Myers-Briggs type indicator), my mind is constantly assessing both people and situations. Even in the grocery store, I people-watch and evaluate. It’s exhausting. Because judging is my strength, I tend to be logical and “sensible.” And sometimes emotional people get an eye-roll or worse from me. Especially if the emotional person is me.

          What I am learning in my dotage is that the universe has its own way of balancing things—that all people, all personality types bring something to the table. There is no good or bad type—there’s just us. Just all of us trying to make it through these very rough times, trying to figure out what comes next and how to navigate all the changes. If you bring your strengths and I bring mine, there is a better chance that we’ll get to the end intact. If we fight each other and denigrate each other there’s every possibility that we won’t.

          There has never been a better time for core ego strengths. Feeling confident in yourself, and comfortable in your own skin, no matter what is happening around you, goes a long way toward navigating the white water of life. But we’re in unknown territory—pioneers in the twenty-first century—trying to figure out how to make the best of life even in the face of pandemic, shortages and so-called scarcity. Most of the world would not recognize scarcity in the American way of life, since it is how they live all the time, but we see it in all those container ships docked outside the ports for weeks. No presents for Christmas, you say! Empty shelves in my favorite store! What!!

          And then, we look around and notice all we have that we never use, all the clothes in our closet that we never wear, all the food that gets dumped in the trash. How blessed we are, how abundant our lives. We could be rejoicing, slapping one another on the back and saying, “I delight in you!”

You are me and I am you. We may have different personalities, but we are the same. You bring your strengths and I’ll bring mine and together we will restore, renew, revive, reclaim, and redeem each other and our world. Why not! Let’s do it!

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane

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