Oh My God, It's...

I shared in a recent post, Playing it Safe?, that I enjoy watching vocal competition shows, such as American Idol and The Voice. I am entertained and often moved and inspired by them.

In one of the recent episodes of American Idol, the judges were encouraging one of the singers to have confidence in himself. Luke Bryan, one of the judges turned to Lionel Richie, another judge and said, “Tell him what you say to yourself every morning.”

Lionel said, “Every morning when I look in the mirror I say ‘Oh my God, it's Lionel Richie!’”

I turned to J and said, “I’m going to start doing that. Every morning when I look in the mirror, I am going to say ‘Oh my God, it’s David Howard!’” And I did.

As I write this, I am realizing that I have not continued the practice, but I am recommitting myself to it.

On the surface, it sounds like a statement of self-conceit which most, if not all of us, are taught to avoid at all cost. We are told, “Don’t be too full of yourself,” "Who do you think you are?," or “Don’t get to big for your breeches." That’s one that I often heard growing up in the South.

Those sorts of messages from our parents or other authority figures are often damaging. When taken to heart, they encourage us to play small, to not honor our personal power and magnificence, and to deny the wonderful and unique expression of God that each of us is.

In doing that, we withhold our gifts from the world. Not only do we suffer, but the world is deprived of the beauty that we are. In A Course in Miracles, Jesus says,

“Do not withhold your gifts from the Sonship, or you withhold yourself from God! Selfishness is of the ego, but Self-fullness is of spirit because that is how God created it.”

To be selfish is to withhold from the world the expression of our unique gifts and talents. It is withholding God from God!

Self-fullness, on the other hand, because it is of Spirit is about owning who we are and extending our God-self to benefit the world. Self-fullness is confidence – it knows self as an expression of God and makes no apology for owning and living that Truth.

Unlike selfishness, Self-fullness does not “hide its light under a bushel” (Matthew 5:15). Instead, from the realization of the unique individuation of Spirit that one is, it lets that Light shine brightly for the entire world to benefit.

I believe we could all do with a little more Self-fullness. Please join me in the practice of looking in the mirror every morning and saying aloud, 

"Oh my God, it’s (insert your name here)!"