To Be Insecure

My life changed drastically the day I figured out that almost everyone on Earth is insecure, and that to be insecure is to be human. What was so fascinating is that most of us are so acutely aware of it in ourselves, but for some reason seem to struggle with the fact that others are as well. We all play the game, the game that I'm fine, the game that I don't doubt myself, but in reality, we know deep inside our greatest hope is that nobody will realize who we really are.

Now most of us have at least one attribute about ourselves that we are secure in. Some people might have two or three. We tend to call these things "strengths." Typically these are first places we will take refuge when we need to. For some it is that they are smart, for others its to be funny, some people are pretty, others are athletic, whatever it is, it is here that we turn to find self worth, all they while fully aware of all the other parts of our persona that don't measure up.

Strangely, it is these common insecurities that would unite us the most as they are the most vulnerable things about us. We end up hiding the very things that make us all alike. Perhaps this is what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he discovered it was really his weaknesses that made him strong. Perhaps he discovered that he was able to connect with people in new and deeper ways once he learned just to be transparent and honest about his inadequacies. Former addicts will often talk of the relief that came with revealing their dark secret and admitting their weakness to the world. For many, that was the first time they found the strength to win their war with addiction. Perhaps it is when we discover the courage to be transparent to all about our weakness that we can truly connect with others. A weak man with the admiration of many is very powerful.