Victim or product?

We are all either victims or products of our own experiences.  Our lives are a succession of situations and happenings that mould who we are as individuals.  The difference between being a victim or a product is making the decision to be aware of the dynamics that impact and shape us.  To understand ourselves liberates us to understand why we are the personalities we have become, and how to utilise our experiences in the future.

“The man who can articulate the movements of his inner life, who can give names to his varied experiences, need no longer be a victim of himself, but is able slowly and consistently to remove the obstacles that prevent the Spirit from entering.  He is able to create space for Him whose heart is greater than his, whose eyes can see more than his, and whose hands can heal more than his.” Henri Nouwen

Henri Nouwen believes that this articulation is the basis for Christian relationships, “because only he who is able to articulate his own experience can offer himself to others as a source of clarification.”

The future holds the most significant difference between being a victim or a product.  A “victim” always remains a victim, and out of control.  A “product” is something that is made, or being made, for a particular purpose.  The products that we become find their purpose in the future, and while ever we reflect on our experiences, and learn, we will be in control, and find usefulness in the future.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6