Session 16: A Lesson in Grace
A common theme of my Therapy Thursday sessions was “GRACE“. The word came up only occasionally, but it was frequently alluded to.
After hearing it a few times in my sessions with Ken, it became a word that kept showing up in my life… How much more clear could the message have been for me?
PRACTICE GRACE.
DEMONSTRATE GRACE.
SHOW GRACE.
I would like to have said SHOW MORE GRACE, but the harsh reality is that grace was not something that I had practiced very much in my life.
My Therapy Thursday sessions made it clear that my critical nature was a poison that kept me from connecting in a positive way with people I loved. Ken never came out and said that directly, of course- part of therapy is about discovering these things for ourselves.
And its not like this fact was unknown to me… after all, when I started therapy, I said that one of the issues I wanted to address was whether my expectations were too high (read: unrealistic).
GRACE
According to Merriam-Webster.com, Grace is “unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification”. I also liked this alternative definition: “disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency”
Dictionary.com has it defined (in this context) as “favor or goodwill”
Ken defined it as “unmerited favor”
I was encouraged to practice GRACE, and since I didn’t really know what that looked like or how to do it very well, Ken gave me these tools/concepts to add to my personal growth toolbelt.
- Be kind in what I say and how I say it.
- Express gratitude whenever possible.
- Be forgiving.
- Ask for forgiveness when I err.
- Care about others & help when I am able.
- Remain calm and composed when others are rude.
“Treat people better than they deserve to be treated.”
These are simple principles of decency, yet I can think of several instances when this is NOT the way I behave.
However, I am work in progress, so I will keep striving to live this way. As we all should.
3 Comments
This is a difficult one to master – I feel it will be a lifelong endeavor. I feel it is in short supply – especially as we tend to overschedule – when we feel stretched thin emotionally, it is difficult to remember that other’s are experiencing stressful times too.
You have more Grace than you think you have. There are several times I can think of were you showed grace. I really appreciate the tool box list. I think we can all work on showing more grace. Thanks for another great article.