Tuesday, June 18, 2013

I Know What You Really Think of Me


Ever hit "reply all" when you should have just hit "reply"?  Depending on the content of the email that could be the worse feeling in the world once it leaves your inbox.  Tim Kreider, writing for the NY Times shares a story like this and brings some helpful reflections.  It's great writing and seen through the lens of gospel-centered community, this article is very meaningful.  Here is the conclusion:
We don’t give other people credit for the same interior complexity we take for granted in ourselves, the same capacity for holding contradictory feelings in balance, for complexly alloyed affections, for bottomless generosity of heart and petty, capricious malice. We can’t believe that anyone could be unkind to us and still be genuinely fond of us, although we do it all the time.

Years ago a friend of mine had a dream about a strange invention; a staircase you could descend deep underground, in which you heard recordings of all the things anyone had ever said about you, both good and bad. The catch was, you had to pass through all the worst things people had said before you could get to the highest compliments at the very bottom. There is no way I would ever make it more than two and a half steps down such a staircase, but I understand its terrible logic: if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known.
Read the rest.

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