As in “Me First” and “gimme,” the pronoun me has gotten a bad name over the years. It’s other people we’re told we should be thinking about. It’s giving to them. But taken all by itself–just me–there’s something rather poignant about it. Only two letters long. Barely one syllable. It looks as though it needs all the help it can get.
“Love your neighbor as yourself,” we’re told. Maybe before i can love my neighbor very effectively, I have to love me–not in the sense of a blind passion, but in the sense of looking after, of wishing well, of forgiving when necessary, of being my own friend.
Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark and Beyond Words
Frederick Buechner is one of my favorite authors. I return to his books over and over, and discover gems I had missed earlier. In addition, a daily excerpt from one of Buechner’s books, like the one quoted here, greets me every morning.
Photo credit: Mackenzie Andersen, via Unsplash