{"id":4598,"date":"2025-05-02T08:46:53","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T12:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=4598"},"modified":"2025-05-02T08:46:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T12:46:53","slug":"not-about-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/not-about-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Not About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>

My <\/em>life is not actually about me<\/em>.

In my head and in my heart, I know that\u2019s true.

The problem, of course, is that I really have a hard time choosing to live<\/u><\/em> as if that were true.

I am constantly thinking about myself. It takes no effort whatsoever.\u00a0

When I wake up in the morning, I immediately begin thinking about me<\/em> \u2013 my appointments for the day, my aches and pains, my worries about money, my need to hear last night\u2019s sports scores, and my fear that I won\u2019t have an idea for the next reflection.

Me, me, me<\/em>.\u00a0

Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor suggests that all of us have been enculturated into this pervasive me-centeredness.

Society embraces the romantic ideal that each of us has this Golden Figure at the core of our self.\u00a0 \u201cThere is an innately good True Self,\u201d Taylor says, \u201cwhich can be trusted, consulted, and gotten in touch with.\u00a0Your personal feelings are the best guide.\u201d

How do I know if I\u2019m being wise?\u00a0\u201cYou know you are doing the right thing when you feel good inside.\u201d

In his book The Road to Character, <\/em>social critic David Brooks calls this \u201cthe shift to the Big Me.\u201d\u00a0

The cultural drumbeat is relentless.\u00a0Your life is quite clearly all about you.

If you\u2019re stressed, you need to pamper<\/em> yourself.
If you\u2019re interviewing for your dream job, you need to believe in<\/em> yourself.
If you\u2019re doing karaoke, you need to express<\/em> yourself.
If you\u2019re being slammed on social media, you need to stand up for<\/em> yourself.
If you\u2019re on a special date, you need to just be<\/em> yourself.

As one of the characters in High School Musical<\/em> sings, \u201cThe answers are all inside of me \/ All I\u2019ve got to do is believe.\u201d

These sentiments, of course, raise some important questions: If my life is all about myself<\/em>, what do I do if my self is a dumpster fire?\u00a0

As philosopher Stanley Hauerwas points out, \u201cabout the worst advice you can give anyone is to be themselves.\u201d What if I don\u2019t even know what my self is<\/u><\/em>?

Christian spirituality classically addresses these questions not by calling us to a journey of self-discovery, but to a life of God-discovery.\u00a0I actually come to know myself as I fix more and more of my attention on Someone beyond myself.\u00a0

Jesus told his disciples, \u201cLive in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can\u2019t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can\u2019t bear fruit unless you are joined with me\u201d (John 15:4, The Message<\/em>).

Apart from a specific plan to set my mind on the things of Christ, however \u2013 to make my home in him \u2013 I\u2019ll almost certainly default to wallowing in the things of Me.

Here\u2019s one way forward:\u00a0

Choose a time each day when you can give your full attention to the Lord for five minutes.\u00a0It could be while you\u2019re still lying in bed, or holding your first cup of coffee, or driving to work or school, or taking a break in the middle of your routine.

In those five minutes, commit yourself to seeking Christ\u2019s presence in everything that will happen that day.\u00a0

You might say it out loud \u2013 something like, \u201cLord, I thank you that I am not the center of the universe.\u00a0Keep reminding me that that\u2019s your job. Right now I am choosing again the path of trusting you.\u00a0And Lord, I give you permission to do whatever it takes to help me remember today that life is all about you, and not about me.\u201d

Not about me.<\/strong>

It\u2019s ironic that those three words, if taken to heart, can actually help me become the very best version of Me. \u00a0
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here My life is not actually about me. In my head and in my heart, I know that\u2019s true. The problem, of course, is that I really have a hard time choosing to live as if that were true. I am constantly thinking about myself. It takes no effort whatsoever.\u00a0 When I… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[922,921],"class_list":["post-4598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-me","tag-self"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4598"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4600,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598\/revisions\/4600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}