Intentions for Fulfillment: Thursday's Reflection

Recently, I reread an article I had filed from Spirituality and Health Magazine (September-October, 2010) by Steve Lawlor, "The Pattern of Fulfillment." 

In this article Lawlor says people who

          Enjoy life the most,
        
          Regularly express vitality and creativity,

          and

       Create good news for and with others

follow a simple and powerful pattern. The words they seem to live by are:

         Know yourself.

         Be yourself.

         Give yourself away. 


An Invitation
I wish I had something pithy to say after sharing these words, but I don't. Instead, I would love to know what you have to say about Lawlor's observations. How do they apply to you? What meaning do these words have for you, if you find yourself struggling with the changes that come with aging? Do you struggle with meaning or purpose? 

What are you doing to know yourself, to get to know the person God created you to be? What spiritual practices help you in that process of growing and deepening? What hints have you felt recently that you don't know yourself as well you thought you did? What are you going to do about that? 

When do you most feel like yourself and what exactly does that feel and look like? When are you most present to yourself and therefore, to the world around you? What do you have to lose by being yourself? Would you recognize yourself if you could be yourself? How is being yourself a form of spiritual practice?

What fears do you have about giving yourself away? What is the worst that could happen? What does it even mean to give yourself away--if your give yourself away, what's left? What do you have to give that you possess tightly? What are some ways you could give yourself away and not lose yourself? Why are you holding so tightly onto yourself anyway? How could giving yourself away be a spiritual practice?

I would love to know.