Letting Go the Pretense

One of the most disturbing types of conflict is also the one we can easily avoid. It is the conflict we have with ourselves.

When the person inside us is in conflict with the person on the outside, it drains our energy and damages our credibility. Yet instantaneously, we can get rid of that conflict by letting go of the pretense.

All we have to do is be completely honest about who we are. Drop the pretense, be real and relieve ourselves of heavy burden.

The beginning of greatness is to be little; to increase greatness is to be less, and the perfection of greatness is to be nothing. The world’s idea of greatness is to rule, but Christian greatness consists in serving. The less there is of you, the more the light shines through.- St. Francis de Sales.

Let us stop pretending to be someone we are not. For even if we could manage to be convincing at it, we would gain nothing of real value.

That real value lives in the authentic person we are. In our sincere and deeply felt passions, we will find life’s most delightful and fulfilling treasures.

Although as human, we tend to aspire and seek self-recognition, self-importance, power and other selfish aspirations that we have to satisfy our ego. When we face reality and humble ourselves, we will find inner peace and serenity. It does not mean that we think less of ourselves. It simply means we think of ourselves less.

Pride makes us artificial. But being humble makes us real and accurate estimate of ourselves. We need to recognize that whatever life presents us, needs to be respected. Small things are easily found in big things, but inside little things there is often greatness.

There is no need to live in conflict with ourselves for even one moment longer. Let our true person shine through, and fulfill the wonderful possibilities that are uniquely ours.

By Tim Pedrosa

Have you observed a rice field and noticed which heads are bent and which ones stand up straight? Well, the empty heads are standing tall and high. The heads that are filled with grains are bending low. Indeed, the true great and strong people are humble and gentle. True giants don't mind bowing low.

Tim