Two ways to begin
Here are two ways to begin noticing, reflecting and practising being human through the lives we live and share.
1. YOUR FORMATION
The life you are living
An invitation to notice how your experiences, relationships and choices are forming you.
Your life is already forming you, through the people you encounter, the choices you make, and the things that happen to you.
Much of this happens in ordinary moments. Perhaps a conversation you had a moment ago, a disappointment, or someone showed a brief moment of unexpected kindness, maybe something in what you’ve done a hundred times before.
Take a moment to notice:
Encounters: What is happening in my life?
Think about what you’ve experienced today. What has brought you joy, frustration, curiosity or concern? What might have happened that passed unnoticed?
Participation: How am I responding?
We don’t choose everything that happens to us. But we participate through how we respond, including the times we hesitate, withdraw or don’t know what to do.
Relationships: Who is part of my life, and whose life am I part of?
Consider the people who have shaped your experiences, sometimes without intending to. And perhaps you’ve done the same for them.
Not every experience is a lesson. Many are not. Some things take years to understand, and others may never make sense.
But your noticing adds something to your experience. You may begin to recognise something about yourself that you hadn’t seen before.
What kind of person am I becoming through the life I am living?
2. WALKING ALONGSIDE OTHERS
The lives you share
An invitation to consider how you participate in the formation of people around us.
We all participate in one another’s formation. Our presence, words and actions affect others, sometimes in ways we may never know.
Think about the people you spend time with. Family, friends, colleagues, or perhaps someone you’ve only just met. Each has a life of their own, much of which you may never see or understand.
As you spend time with someone, consider:
Listen: Am I making room for their experience?
Sometimes we are quick to offer advice or explain what someone should do. But perhaps they simply want to share what life has been like for them.
Participate: What am I bringing into their life?
It might be encouragement, practical help, disagreement, laughter, or simply your presence. Even an ordinary conversation becomes part of someone’s experience.
Respect: Am I allowing them to live their own life?
We can care deeply about someone without deciding everything for them. There are times to help, to protect, to speak honestly, and times to make room for their choices.
Walking alongside is sometimes uncomfortable and oftentimes not straightforward. We misunderstand one another. Our attempts to help sometimes make things worse. We have our own limitations, needs and responsibilities.
We share parts of one another’s journeys, but each of us has a life of our own.
And as we participate in their formation, they participate in ours.
What kind of people are we becoming through the lives we share?
