Protecting Vision... Part Four

Even though it was decades ago, I still feel the sting of it; a sharp and precise surgical stroke that sliced deep.
Days were running into each other and the tension of multiple plates (projects) being spun while balanced was mounting to an all time high.  That which seemed to make so much sense all along the way, began to fray in the face of growing demands that I did not envision when it all started.  Blinded by my mounting emotional fervency, my expectations of others via my demands became unbearable for those around me.  From my view, they had some real problems!  From theirs (which was not being considered nor read on my instrument panel), I was flying upside down and no longer on the originally mapped course.

At a crucial juncture, in the heat of the moment, in the middle of an intense conversation, one entangled individual pointedly and purposefully said to me, “You think you’re God!”

That is when I began to lose altitude… big time!

Principle Four: You may appear larger than you actually are !It doesn’t arrive instantaneously in most cases; it is a gradual eroding or chipping away of a right perception, which finds itself in redefining yourself and everyone around you.

Others began to appear inept compared to my competence.
Others seemed indolent compared to my commitment.
Others were irrelevant compared to my significance.
[ still stings as it is shared once again ]

All the signs were there, but I was not paying attention to the things that mattered most.  What mattered most to me was me… and how I felt in each moment.  People became a MEANS to an END, and the end was ME.

And… that pretty much was the end of me... at least in that way of seeing things!  Things, indeed, changed.
We need to define each other rightly at all times; a right and proper respect for who they are.  And, we need to stay clear of taking on things that are not ours to take on; a right and proper respect for what they do.

Forgiveness was the key to getting back on course way back then, and it still remains the answer for when we “get too big for our britches” in today's culture.
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Fly in the right direction… right side up!