The above quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln. It popped into my head this morning as I was thinking about maturity. And it brings to me the second ingredient to becoming mature: truth. Mature people deal in truth. First you become vulnerable, then you have to speak and seek truth.
Speaking truth means you are upfront and honest with people. Speaking truth means you say what you are feeling. Speaking truth means that you close the gap between who you really are and who you are showing yourself to be to others. Ooh, that’s big.
Seeking truth is even harder. Seeking truth means you search out people who will be honest with you. Seeking truth means you go to someone when there is conflict between the two of you, even when you are right, in hopes to heal the relationship. Seeking truth means you stand up for what should be, not just what is. Seeking truth means you unzip your own skin and expose your innermost heart to someone you trust and say “what do I need to change?”
You don’t have to do all of that right away, you know. You can start with baby steps. You can start by just being honest with yourself. Be your own trustworthy source for truth. What DO you need to change in your life? No ideas? Try this: Think of a quality or characteristic of someone you know that you just hate. Are they too talkative? Do they have a HUGE ego? Are they less than trustworthy? Do they talk about others behind their backs? Do they push their own agenda? Do they fail to deal with problems and instead stick their head in the sand? Think about that characteristic for a minute and then process this:
The qualities and characteristics we despise most in others are usually present in ourselves.
There. There’s a little bit of truth to get you started
This is a good one.
I particularly like this bit about standing up for what SHOULD BE, not what is. Win or lose. In many ways, it's more important to know who you are and what you stand for. Let the chips fall where they may.
Posted by: Ronnie | February 21, 2005 at 05:22 PM