dailydatewithgod

People exude particular qualities.  It isn’t specific to the way they are behaving or what they are saying but when you describe them you are conveying who they are being.  In actuality, you are describing who they are being for you.  We all convey who we are in multiple ways to others.  You ever notice that some people receive who you are being while others cannot seem to?  It is because our experience of others isn’t them it is us.  We have a perception of others that colors how we see and experience them.  It is often because of an original interaction with them.  This is why students will give different descriptions of the same teacher or patients rate their doctors as having certain characteristics.  How we experience others is correlated to how we are experiencing ourselves and the world in that moment.  If we are in a space of love and understanding we come across people as being loving, understanding, kind, and compassionate.  If we are in a place of ingratitude and frustration we experience others as annoying and frustrating–even the ones who are behaving in an opposite manner.  In fact, we are more irritated by them.  This is why it is important for us to be who we are.  We cannot control how others experience us.  God calls us to be who we authentically are in the moment, regardless of the reaction we get from other people.  I used to think (not consciously, of course) that if I just didn’t say certain things or do certain things, others would be pleased with me.  Sometimes, they were, sometimes they weren’t.  So I determined that people were unstable.  I didn’t get that I am supposed to be who I am, not tailor it to what I think other people expect or want.  My prayer for us today is that we have the courage to stop and breathe and chose with enthusiasm who we are being today regardless of anyone else.  Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen