The mutual encounters of your life are the human to human interactions we experience in our day to day lives. Whether with a stranger at the grocery store or a partner we live with, opportunities for personal growth and collective change arise in these daily mutual encounters. We leave lasting impressions on people, whether favorable or unfavorable. The impressions we leave can vary based on the emotions we may be experiencing in that given moment. Recognizing our different emotions and where they stem from is where opportunities for reflection and growth reveal themselves in our daily encounters.
One of the most common emotions that can impact our daily interactions, and consequently our personal growth, is fear. This post shares one of many perspectives to consider when looking at how fear can affect our mutual encounters with those we cross paths with in life.
Fear and our Mutual Encounters
Fear, in the multitude of ways it manifests, can be a major driving force in our interactions with the people we encounter in life. One common fear is the fear of losing something that is not ours to be lost. Meaning, we can never lose something that is truly meant for us to have. This fear can keep us holding on so tightly and desperately to things, behaviors, ideas, goals, and even people we think we need, that we are not free to grasp the gifts that are actually meant for us.
Our egos tend to let selfishness take charge, fearing that allowing someone else the opportunity to have what we have will, in turn, leave us lacking what we need. When in fact, it is our intuitive direction that guides us to do good for others and share with others. By following our intuitive direction, no matter what, we are helping ourselves, the world we live in, and the people we encounter, and also those who may one day be there to provide us with what we need just as we did for them.
The following daily reflection is from Recovery text that I hope inspires readers to consider the mutual encounters of your life.
“If I am to be remembered, I hope it is for the honesty I try to demonstrate, the patience I try to live by, and the compassion I feel for others.” – JoAnn Reed
Each Day A New Beginning
Self-Reflecting on Mutual Encounters
We can learn a lot about ourselves through our encounters with others during our day. How we treat others is often a direct reflection of how we feel about ourselves and our own lives. Consider asking yourself the following questions at the end of your day and see where your answers take you.
“When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest, or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better? Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? Or were we thinking of what we could do for others, of what we could pack into the stream of life?
But we must be careful not to drift into worry, remorse or morbid reflection, for that would diminish our usefulness to others. After making our review we ask God’s forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 1st edition p. 98
