Openness is a spiritual practice, a way of praying, requiring us to listen and to be present, accepting others as well as ourselves. Openness may mean that others see all the shortcomings, all the blemishes and flaws that characterize every one of us. We may be critiqued for one thing or another and may not measure up to the expectations of others or even ourselves. These are the dreaded risks.
But when we practice openness, we make visible our own humanity. When we practice openness, we show others acceptance and generosity of spirit, allowing them to be themselves. When we open the doors of our own lives, we make ourselves vulnerable to others.
Openness also means space for God to speak and act, space for acceptance, space to carry one another and bear the joys and sorrows of life.
This message is excerpted from “Openness as prayer” by Julie K. Aageson in the November 2015 Gather magazine.
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