The quest to become ourselves is a drama that lasts a lifetime. In the past week, I have been pondering May Sarton’s poem Now I Become Myself.* She beautifully alludes to how easily we can be taken in by trying to conform to other people, by thinking and rushing to be somewhere else in the quest to uncover who we are. Then, in one magnificent insight, she shows that it is only by living fully in the present, this moment, can we enter into the full dignity and richness of who we are. Only here, now, can I touch my deepest dignity. Yes, I may be mired in mundane work, I may be caught in a situation that needs challenging, I may be so tired I don’t know what I want, I could be so content I want nothing to change. But only in this moment can I become myself, owning my free dignity.
And it is in these moments that we most truly know God. God will not be found by us in a church, in a service, when we are better people, when we have done the right thing unless we can stop and be the unique person we have been created to be. As one spiritual guide says, the present moment is a sacrament – a means by which God comes into our lives. When we stop, still to this moment, we may discover not only the mystery of ourselves but of God as well.
Loving Father, you are fully present to me at each moment. Let me become present to myself, that I may discover the richness and dignity that is mine. I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.
Sr Kym Harris osb
*Can be found on the internet by googling the title and Mary Sarton.
