Black Narcissus

One of my favorite movie lines is from Black Narcissus. The conversation goes like this:

Mother Dorothea: Give her responsibility, Sister. She badly wants importance. Sister Clodagh: Do you think it's a good thing to let her feel important? Mother Dorothea: Spare her some of your own importance... if you can.

It is a mark of greatness to spare others some of our own importance. We do that when we let others tell the story we could tell better; when we rejoice when another receives a privilege/honor we wanted for ourselves; when we resist the urge to take over when others “don’t measure up”. Sparing someone some of our own importance is not giving offense, it is not taking offense; it is humbly letting something go. It is listening when we have much to say. It is sparing some of “our valuable time” to perform random acts of kindness; it IS a random act of kindness. Letting others feel important is a way to value them, and valuing others is the key to healthy human relations.

Thank-you, dear readers, friends, for helping me feel important. You are very special to me. I am leaving early tomorrow and will be away for a while, staying with my sister’s children while she and her husband have a much-needed vacation. Call my cell if you’d like to chat!