It is revealed in the small details ...

I remember a childrens' story while I was a student training for ministry that struck me as a profound truth ...

My supervisor at the time was teaching the children the hymn, "They will know we are Christians by our love ..."

She talked about how we must live out our faith not by the BIG statements and the BIG things that we do, but in the little every day things ... our interactions among friends, our dealings with each other ... She touched on the idea of "what would Jesus do?" before the whole WWJD? movement caught on ... she commented - "we should live the faith that is in our heart in everything we do ..."

Later we discussed this and talked about what such a faith-life stance might look like ... We even reflected on the passage from Matthew where the Escatological Christ begins seperating out the sheep from the goats and rewards the sheep for having welcomed him in ... "when did we not feed, clothe, and care for you?" the people cry as they are ushered away ...

"When you failed to do it for one of the least of these, my sisters and brothers, you failed to do it for me ..." came the agonizing answer ...

Our faith will be revealed in the small things ... this week I've realized that the small details in our day to day lives help to reveal an even bigger truth about who we really are deep down in side ...

How we live our lives and how we move through the world reveals the beat of our heart. What we do in the unguarded moments when we are being unknowingly observed tells the world the truth about who we are inside ... and it is sometimes painful to have those around us point out this revelation, particularly when it runs hard against the carefully constructed story we have lived within and hidden behind ...

But as they say ... in time, all will be revealed ...

We reveal ourselves to others through our unconscious thoughts and actions ... and seeing ourselves through the eyes of others is seldom comfortable nor easy ... but vital to wholeness and well being ...

Our love and care we may be expressed verbally towards others, but the validity of our words will be borne out in how we treat them ... the small gestures ... the moments taken and shared ... the acts of thoughtfulness ... their presence or absence reveal the true sentiments of our being ... do we remember to show our care through random acts of kindness, or do we simply and tragically forget ?

How do we treat those around us? Do they feel loved or abandoned?

Is our care obvious, or is it simply an obligation we enact periodically to maintain the peace?

Moreover, the contentment of our being is revealed as we move through our day and when we think no one else is watching ... our body stance ... our posture ... our facial expressions ... the tone of our voice ... are we tucking in our heads and looking down and letting our discomfort and insecurities get the better of us? Or are we showing the world we are happy and content - not when we KNOW we are being watched - but when we are simply being and think we are unobserved ??

How we move through the day and the unconscious interation with what is around us reveals to the world the content of our heart and soul ...

The reality borne in our hearts and souls are revealed when we step out from behind the masks that we've become to edept at wearing not only for others, but for ourselves as well ... those masks slip through the day and the pain (the pain-body to cite Tolle) is revealed and the TRUTH that lurks within rises to the fore ...

The journey of awakening and wholeness means that one day the small gestures ... the posture we assume when no one is watching ... and even the facial expression that crosses our face when we are simply being ... those things will no longer betray a discontent and unhappy soul ... but will reflect the contentment that comes with being present to Now and achieving wholeness and well being through honesty ... awakening ... and letting go of not only the pain-body, but the insecurity of our own ego ...

In the mean time we must be mindful that the world will know what is really being lived within by the small details in our lives ... and most of all, we need to have the courage to hear the truth that we ourselves are revealing to those around us ... and that may be the hardest part of all ...