Others

midway through January isn't too late to start something

I am, as many of you may be able to relate, pretty self-focused. I am the only one in charge of getting myself out of bed and dressed in the morning. I am singularly tasked with putting food and water into my body (they have yet to invent a Stanley that eliminates user error by directly inputting liquid into the body), and information into my brain. I am also responsible for what words come out of my body. This is all fine. Things happen to me, I tell them as a story, and mostly people seem to find them interesting or at least (hopefully) better than reading nutrition labels. But this year I want to refocus the unnecessary parts of self-focus.

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.”

―CS Lewis

In thinking of myself less, I want to think about others. One way I hope to do this is through telling their stories (of course, this is a little bit counterproductive because I’m hoping to learn, and therefore improve myself, through their story, but on this side of heaven, nothing will be perfect, will it?) In my life, I’ve encountered some extra-ordinary people. I think their stories are worth reading.

ex·traor·di·nar·y /ikˈstrôrdnˌerē,ekˈstrôrdnˌerē/

adjective

1. very unusual or remarkable.

I’m going to keep it brief, and anonymous, for the most part. I’ll still have some reflection questions for us to journal along with at the bottom.

If you know someone extra-ordinary who will never tell their own story, please reply and let me know who, and why they are extra-ordinary. I might interview them!

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:3

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Reflection Questions

1. Did you pick a word for 2024? How’s that going for you so far?

2. Do you know any extra-ordinary people (hint, you probably do)? What is it that makes them extra-ordinary?

3. What is the difference between thinking less of yourself and thinking of yourself less?