The Mercury – Wednesday

Are you whole? What does whole look like in a person’s life? How does one know if one is?

I think it has everything to do with how we treat ourselves, treat others, and, and here’s a big one, how we permit others to treat us.

Doormats are as unwell as bullies, perhaps even combating similar issues.

Brokenness, weakness, vulnerability, and humility will be evident in a whole person – just as there will be the evidence of a strong backbone and an assertive voice.

Whole and pushover cannot co-exist.

To be whole is to be fully human, and the journey toward wholeness, the ever-incomplete journey, is often paved with pain.

He or she who is whole treats all others, despite rank, wealth, position or the lack of each, with mutuality, respect, and equality – and expects no less from all others.

The whole person welcomes ALL – shows hospitality to all, and is yet discerning when building potentially deep relationships.

The whole person appreciates his or her community and neither elevates nor underplays his or her place within a community. Whether the platform is an immediate family, whether the audience is a handful of neighbors or a fan club, the whole person understands that his or her wholeness is inextricably, inescapably linked to being part of others.

No one can be enduringly whole while cut off from community.