REVEAL YOURSELF AND GROW

One who has no confidence in oneself will not trust others with a look into one's interior. At the same time, the more one veils oneself from others, the more one is subject to suspicion and misunderstanding. On the other hand, the more open and communicative you are, the more human you become, and the more appreciated you will be.

A candle cannot shine unless it lets out its light. It is seen in its own light. In giving light to others it shines. So let your light shine; share your time with others. Many people are afraid what they would discover in themselves. So, they avoid all self-exploration. Likewise they are afraid what others would discover in them. So, in fear and shame they impose an iron curtain on themselves, shrinking into isolation and incommunicability. They shut themselves off from others and suffer loneliness all their life. Thus, they block their own growth and the flowering of their personality.

Love yourself humbly and honestly. Then you can love yourself to the point of self-forgetfulness. That will help you to be open to others and to live in solidarity with them. Be willing to let yourself be seen for what you really are. And be understanding enough to see others without judging. Let others know you and get in touch with the real you. Likewise, try to know others and get in touch with them. Listen to them and share your time with them. Accept, appreciate and support all that is good in others. Be a well-wisher, be an encouragement to everyone. When your self-seeking comes to an end, you will be the happiest of people.

The most important growth is growth in love, and this cannot take place without personal communication and openness to others. To communicate is to relate oneself to others by sharing of ideas, attitudes, feelings, experiences and plans. To communicate is to let others be in touch with your real self. Communication is a very necessary and a very satisfying experience. To be known by others and to know others is a great thing for every individual. The more one is known, the more one is accepted and loved. So, do not be afraid, ashamed or hesitate to become a known person. Communication is to life what blood is to the body, so the saying goes. When the flow of blood stops, the body dies; when the flow of communication stops, the life of harmony in the home and in society ends.

Communication is basically self-revelation. Now, self-revelation presupposes a certain degree of self-appreciation and self-assurance. One who has no confidence in oneself will not trust others with a look into one's interior. At the same time, the more one veils one self from others, the more one is subject to suspicion and misunderstanding.

On the other hand, the more open and communicative you are, the more human you become, and the more appreciated you will be. Then your social relationships will deepen and flourish, and you will grow in heart and mind. In this social interaction you will discover and appreciate yourself better. Little wonder, Aelred Watkin says, "it is a time of discovery when each meeting means a heightened intimacy and each hesitance overcome is a fresh glorious conquest. It is like an expedition unto a new world where

fresh wonders reveal themselves on each day's journey, and each wonder is welcomed as a pledge of greater wonders to come".

Meetings are held, conversations are prolonged, common interest sought for, confidences are given and received, each one more delightfully intimate than the preceding. Letters are written at great length and with great care, and letters are received which are perused again and again in order to extract that last ounce of affection from the written page.

In a nutshell, little symbols of intimacy are envisaged and proposed. No period is too long to spent and this all-absorbing voyage of discovery; no distance too great to be traversed at love's behest.