Pride always prevents us from seeing, knowing, and hearing our true selves (and others) because sometimes we don’t like what’s behind the curtain, so we feel the need to put on a show. Inevitably, this fuels our desire to put on a mask so people can’t see us as we really are, but in the process of doing so we lose the opportunity to see, hear, and know others. It prevents us from being approachable and relatable to others. I wonder if the struggle with pride comes from a need that all of us have for significance.
Perhaps pride stems from a lack of being seen, known, and heard earlier in our lives. As a result, a hole creates an empty space longing for the acknowledgement we so badly wanted. We felt like we were desperately trying to be heard, to be recognized as an individual human, and to be known. As is the case with many of our "weeds in the way”, recognition of the deep root cause starts the process of uncovering why and where pride creeps in. When we know this, we can start to take notice of the places, situations, and relationships where our need to prove keeps showing up. We can give ourselves the gift of stepping out of those spaces when we need to.
Here are some questions for reflection:
Where do I see pride showing up in my life?
Is pride just a cover for blocking me from letting people into my world?
Am I afraid to let them in for fear that they may not like who I really am?
Why wouldn’t they really like who I am? What part of me?
Is there a space in me that is longing for acknowledgement? Where?
Is pride blocking me from seeing, hearing, and knowing others? Recall a specific time that this happened and write about it.
How do I want to move forward in light of what I’ve discovered here?
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