Your masterpiece within.
Is there a masterpiece within you that you cannot see?
Could it be a result of where you put your focus?
There is a tremendous difference between seeing and focusing much like hearing and listening. Basically all it takes are a few auditory waves to vibrate the bones in our ear for us to hear. But just because we can hear doesn’t mean that we are listening.
The same can said about seeing and focusing.
Just because I can see doesn’t mean I am focused.
Although I can see a masterpiece at a museum doesn’t mean that I have focused on the work of art and entered into the story the artist was attempting to portray. Focusing, like listening, requires attention and concentration.
I think this is true in discernment.
Like this Jackson Pollock piece, I have to slow down, be still and fix my gaze on God for I may see something that I would have missed had I only glanced at God.
This is much like driving the same route to work each day and being lost in your thought that you never noticed a particular land mark that has been there all along. Or like listening to a song repeatedly and thinking you don’t like it only to one day have it hit you out of the blue and you finally appreciate the beauty and depth of the lyrics.
Sometimes to appreciate a work of art we have to spend time focusing on the piece to understand the artist’s intention. The same is true with God and ourselves.
What do you see when you focus on yourself? What masterpiece is painted within your soul that you have only glanced at due to not focusing on yourself?
There is an old saying in the 12-Step circles that’s says to keep the focus on your self. Basically that means not to give unsolicited advice or to be so caught up in someone else’s world that you can see your own world.
I must admit that it is easy for me to get focused on what another person is doing or not doing. But as long as I am concentrating on another person and devoting my attention to what the other person should be or should not be doing then my vision is clouded.
This is sort of what Jesus had in mind when he told the folks to take the beam out of their own eye. If my attention is on what you are doing there is no way I can see myself.
I am not talking only about judging another. I am talking about deeper issues of my soul. Anytime my attention is diverted on something other than myself my life is not focused.
What is the masterpiece or masterpieces that lie within that I have failed to experience due to having my focus elsewhere?
I just wonder what I have missed that God was doing in my life as a result of having my focus somewhere else other than me?
4 Comments:
Thanks for your thoughts. I think you make a really good point about being too focused on oneself.
Like I said, "I have to slow down, be still and fix my gaze on God for I may see something that I would have missed had I only glanced at God." I guess my prayer is always, not my will be done, but your will be done. I have discovered that there is NO WAY to truly discern what is going on if I have my focus elsewhere. :)
Thanks for your comments.
Thanks for writing this. I want to refocus too, but sometimes it's hard for me because I'm so outwardly focused because of the work I do for others (I work with families that have disabled children).
Any ideas or suggestions? I'd be grateful.
Thanks MMM,
Having worked as a Chaplain in a Level 1 tramua center, we were repeatedly reminded to practice self-care. What does it mean to take care of oneself? For me, it means to step away from time to time for an hour, a day, a week or whatever and allow my body, mind and soul to "heal." In my advertising career life was intense from the moment I walked in until I finally shut it down for the day. It wasn't until I vacationed that I realized just how badly I need the break. For me it is like exercise. Exercise is good and healthy, but in order to achieve the results and expereince the benefits I need appropriate rest. I try to structure self-care into my day. I have to focus on me first and centering myself in God etc. in order to be able to focus on others. I need 30-60 minutes every morning for me and God. Walking, meditating, praying... Somehow I have to feel restored and refreshed before I can help refresh others. I heard someone say that what he does in his ministry is just an overflow of what God is doing in him. Rather than serving from his reserve tank, he serves from the overflow. That requires "time" and "space".
One thing that I have found to be critical to my overall mental, phyisical, and emotonal health is sleep. Sure I can operate (and often have) on less than 8 hours, but I function my better on 8. I now try to love myself enough to give my body and soul what it needs. :)
Do you have a spiritual director? It may be nice to have someone who can walk beside you and perhaps notice things that you may not notice.
Just some thoughts.
Great post. Although I must admit, before I read all the way through, I was going cross-eyed trying to see the three-dimensional "hidden" picture in the painting. I thought it was like those ones at the mall that were popular a few years back. The only thing I could see was a ferret with wings flying out of the picture. It's then that I gave up and read that it was a Pollack. *shrug*
Not to make light of your post!
I think you and Ruth are making the same argument from different directions. Some people are self-focused (or I guess that would be, simply selfish, b/c they rarely evaluate their situation in light of God) and need to remember to focus on the bigger picture, and some people are so focused on the needs and the world around them that they lose sight of what God wants to speak into their own lives.
A good word, all around.
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