Might be the most important thing about you.
Our individualistic Western mindset balks at this idea. But we have been lied to. We have been told that in order to find our true selves that we must go inward, that who we are is self-identified from the inside out, independent of anyone else. We resist being defined by anyone else—by any other individual, by any group, by any system. But our resistance to others in our process of self-understanding means that we also resist the clarity that comes in community.
There is a degree to this idea of the inner-self that I whole-heartedly agree with. In the end, only I can know and see and understand my true self. The thing is, my self-perception is skewed; it is impossible to see myself in any truly objective way. My self-perception will always be blurred, so I need to see myself through others eyes as well.
Others whom I trust. Others who love me. Others who have my best interest in mind. Others who can see me with the eyes of God. Others who can see my strengths and my weaknesses. Others who can see my limitations—both those limitations that I am trying to live beyond, as well as those limitations that I am not stretching to reach.
Heck, sometimes even others who may not tick any of those boxes—even my enemies may see something true about me.
You are not an island. You are an individual who is meant to belong to a collective. Find those trust-worthy, loving, God-envisioned people to whom you can entrust yourself. Who you belong to is who you listen to. And who you listen to shapes who you are.
And, of course, there is God. Every day is a fresh opportunity to belong to him. To hear him.
