February 27th - Rejection

The story...

A few years ago, I performed a personal inventory, an attempt of a searching moral inventory of me, and recorded my findings in a blue book.  The process was good for me mentally and also for those parts of me that are deep down inside - that stuff that's the essence of who I am. 

I periodically open my blue book to both reflect on what I learned and to make a few additions too. The big "aha" moment, from my personal inventory, was that I fear rejection and that fear works its way out in ways that I don't like.  I was surprised the first time that I considered the idea that "I feared rejection" - I was surprised it might be true.  Yet, I answered the inventory questions honestly and it did seem that this fear might be motivating me to behave in ways that I didn't want to.  So, I ordered a related book, Bouncing Back from Rejection, by Leslie Becker.  The book both confirmed this latent truth about me and taught me that I could reduce my sensitivity to rejection by bringing my awareness to it.

It feels good to be more honest with myself and less guarded too.  Strangely, it seems that just sharing this experience with others seems to help them to move towards a better way too - encouragement.  Yes, in the only church in town, we might best walk through life side by side rather than tending towards isolation.

Just for today...

"We can help one another find out the meaning of life . . . But in the last analysis, each is responsible for 'finding himself.'"   No Man Is an Island - Thomas Merton

Blueprint for Progress   ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0910034425