Recalling the first sermon I
preached, having wondered about nerves because of previous public speaking
anxieties, I was pleasantly surprised to find—perhaps under the anointing of God—I
was free to be with those I was
preaching to and to be real. (I’ve
not always felt so in the groove at the pulpit since.)
We know when we’ve reached the
highest point of our performance. It’s when all self-consciousness fades from
the moment and there seems to be a symphony of oneness between us and our immediate
world, including everyone present. We’re lost within, and to, this moment. It’s
a thoroughly wonderful experience. And time becomes abstract, palpable; almost
irrelevant. Self-consciousness has, for that moment at least, disappeared.
Describing Polar Opposites
As far as experience is concerned,
we can contrast anxious nervousness, for example in public speaking, the fact
of hyper-self-consciousness, with that state of being where there’s
consciousness only for the overall experience—our person lost faithfully within
it; our soul’s sown most completely into what we’re doing.
We know the former experience oh
so well. Most of our lives are a litany of nervousness for this thing or that
thing, for meeting important people, for not missing an important date, for
wearing and saying the right things. We get so uptight about even trivial
things. And a lot of this pressure is self-imposed. Self-consciousness reigns.
Then we leap across into the
opposite position, at least within our minds. When we’re so absorbed in the
moment that we lose ourselves, and any thought for self-protection, we become
more our real selves. In a flicker we’re being ‘with’ and being real. We’re
being fully disposed to our world; our world is getting the fullest version of
us it could get. And, of course, we feel wonderful, liberated, free to act as
courageously as we’d like. There’s no pretence whatsoever.
A Vision For Life - Being Fully In The
Moment
Perhaps it’s not a thing that can
be maintained for any length of time. But we can enjoy more and more moments,
and longer moments, where we’re at least aware of our self-consciousness and
are able to courageously spring out of it.
Times of self-revelation, where
information posed in reality prevails upon our thoughts, ought to inspire us to
break free of our self-consciousness.
***
Being ‘with’ and being real is
being completely ourselves in the presence of others, and fully available to
them. Especially when meeting new people or in public speaking, learning to be
with them and be real is crucial. In being ‘with’ and being real we’re
comfortable in our own skin, ideally, in every situation. We should strive for
it.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
Graphic Credit: 20th Century Fox.
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