Reflective Reading: Letting Go of Pretense

I love the following passage by David Benner in his book Presences & Encounter; The Sacramental Possibility of Everyday Life.   We all live under some sort of pretense.  With anything in life, what we can see and name holds less power.  We might not know how to address it, but sometimes that act of seeing is the first step. Pretense Defined pre·tense /ˈprēˌtens,prēˈtens/  noun an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true. Where in your life are you attempting to make something, that is not the case, appear true? Maybe it’s not the big thing, maybe it’s a small thing.  I want you to think I’m tidier, wiser, faster, humbler, better (in whatever way) than I really am.  It easier to own the “big” things that we aren’t rather than the little details that we wish we were, (but can’t quite manage.) Let these words speak to your heart and soul today.  What word or phrase stands out to you? What is the invitation for you, in your life from these words? Simple being is a deep sigh of relief that comes from letting go of pretense.  It is also the sigh that comes from releasing a heavy burden that results from creating and managing the false selves that are substitute centers for the truth of our being.   It is the sigh of release as we let go of preoccupations, inordinate attachments, and discorded passions. Things in the depths of our beings get aligned when we let go of these things.  Even if we pick them up again and try to put them back into place, their places in our souls will be different because we have consented to a first release of them, even if just for a moment. David Benner Ph.D.   Presence and Encounter: The Sacramental Possibilities of Everyday Presences Is there a place in your life that you need to let go of pretense? Is there a heavy burden you are being invited to set down? Are there preoccupations, inordinate attachments or, disordered passions that you can release? If you like these questions, please consider SUBSCRIBING to The Art of Powering Down; Questions to Recharge Your Soul… Every week there is a question that will gently challenge you, encourage you, or help you live your life with more intention, grace, and purpose. (Sharing these reflections and questions with friends is the greatest compliment!)

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