Let Him Be

Inception teaser alert (if you haven't seen Inception, this will give some of the ending away, sort of)

Near the end of the movie "Inception," there is a powerful dialogue between Cobbs and Mal. Cobbs is trying to explain to his wife Mal (which is not really his wife, but rather his projection of her that keeps coming back in his dreams) ... anyways Cobbs is trying to explain to Mal that she is not real and that she is merely a projection of his.

He goes on to say that there is no way he could possibly imagine her "in all of her perfection, in all of her imperfection..." he could not imagine her "fully."

She would never again in this life be simply, wholly, purely...Mal.

He realized that he could not stay in his dreams with the projection of her because a she was not truly there. Part of her was missing. The part that made her ... well, her.

At that moment in the film, I nearly lost it.

Because sometimes I do this with others. In real life. I want others to be who I want them to be, rather than just letting them be who they are and and helping them become who it is that they long to become.

When I try to force people to live under my projection of them, I paralyze them (to a degree)...mainly I paralyze my ability to truly invest in them...at the purest level. When I do this, I put myself above them, I am their superior.

When I let people be who they are and enable their development, I instill value and dignity in them. I express to them that who they are is incredible. I help them understand that God has created them beautifully. When I do this, I put myself below them. I express that I am here to serve them. I am saying "We are all in this together."


Also, I sometimes do this with God. At times, I want God to be a projection of mine. I want Him to do what I want...to come through in the way I'd like...to be who I want Him to be...

But the moment God starts doing this, he ceases to be God.

Because God is better at being God than I could ever project or imagine.

I need to let him be who He is in all of His perfection...purely. To come through in the way He sees best.

And I should be me. Purely, truly, wholly, me.