My being closed to others could imply several things: Those toward whom I am closed are my enemies. Those who have hurt me in the past are more powerful than those who seek to help me now. I already know everything I need to know. If being closed off to others in the past created safety for me, to remain safe, I must remain closed off to everyone all the time. No one has anything of value to teach me. I have nothing of value to share. I have a distinct lack of humility that looks like hurt, pain, and mistrust.
Becoming open means stopping the blame. It means letting go of enmity. It means forgiving those around me, for what I have assumed they would do given the chance. Becoming open means trusting the good in others, their wisdom, their input, their heart, and their help. It also means trusting myself, my own goodness, my own value to others. The world contains pain, and it also contains beauty. I can be open to the beauty. When I do I may find that it is everywhere. Being open in this way is having an Open Self.
Indicators:
- I recognize ways in which I may have been closed to others in the past.
- I am open to other’s feedback and suggestions.
- I am open to principles of wisdom.
- I ask for other’s feedback and suggestions.
- I trust in other’s motives when they are trying to help me.
- I actively participate in opportunities to share from my heart.
- I actively try to help others become open as well.
