Buechner writes that living right is living out of your own humanness and thereby awakening the humanness in others, as well as the humanness in yourself.
But what does that mean, "living out of your own humanness"?
When I consider "my own humanness", I consider my unfinishedness, the idea that as a human I am a work in progress. I am undergoing constant refinement and alteration. To "live out of this" is to live in a way that acknowledges that I am incomplete...or rather, that I am being completed. It is to be aware of the agents that are working to change me from without and within. It is to resist my inner default setting, a setting that I cannot quite seem to re-program, that tells me that I am, in and of myself, as good as I'll ever be.
Practically speaking, I live out of my humanness when I open my heart to the painful reality of my spiritual impoverishment, yet without despair. Pain of this sort is actually a symptom of growth, and should be celebrated as such.
It is vital that I keep in mind that living out of my humanness involves living, intentionally, judiciously. It is a state of being that demands more of me than the state of dreaming on autopilot, that opens me up to real challenges and real relationships and real vulnerability. It is a state that chooses to focus on pursuing Life: Abundant Life. It accepts nothing less.
I am so grateful for those in my life who live this way, and have at various times awakened within me (unbeknownst to myself, perhaps even unbeknownst to them) my own humanness.
No comments:
Post a Comment