'The Real 'I'...'

...in 'ourselves'
'The emergence of the real 'I,' the refusal to compromise with a world which crushes weak people and personal freedom and conscience, this refusal to compromise with evil and forces of corruption and oppression, seems to be particularly hard in public life. When we commit an injustice through fear of losing our position or good name, when we lie because we are afraid of conflict or rejection, when we accept bribes, the 'I' is plunged deeper and deeper into the dark areas of our being.'

- Jean Vanier, Our Journey Home, p. 167

...in 'schools'

'Sometimes young people are put under great pressure to take drugs, or to follow the crowd. If they refuse, they are laughed at, mocked as cowards. Bullying can make life at school unbearable. You need to be strong to say 'No,' but it is then that the deep 'I' emerges.'--is this the what-doesn't-kill-us-makes-us-stronger school of building character?'

p. 168

...in 'our workplace'
'It is not easy to make a stand for justice and truth in our workplace, or in certain tyrannical regimes. But the 'I' emerges when we speak the truth, when we are brave enough to risk stepping out of line, and finding ourselves on our own. When we denounce injustice simply to gain honor and recognition, the 'I' does not really emerge. Healing takes place when we choose truth and justice and follow our conscience.'

p. 168

...in 'freedom'

'The emergence of the 'I' does not give us a freedom of power, the freedom to judge and condemn others and to think ourselves better than they are. Nor does it give the freedom of independence, the capacity to do whatever we want. It gives the freedom of vulnerability, the capacity to suffer with others, to listen to them so as to understand their pain. It is the freedom to take our own place and not anyone else's in society and the universe, so as to live communion and compassion, and communicate trust and freedom to others. It is the freedom to submit to a truth and justice that is greater than ourselves and our group and which allows us to be in communion with universal and eternal values. It is the freedom to be ourselves.'

p. 168

.... is to 'Live in Truth'

The emergence of the 'I' takes place in humility, gradually, through all sorts of setbacks and even mistakes. It is a slow and beautiful growth through all the stages of life. As we travel towards it, we are called to be patient, to find the rhythm proper to our growth, trusting in time and allowing all the things that happen to us, illness, crises, the things we read, encounters, separations and bereavements, to do their work gently within us. Where there is a real desire to live in truth, everything will work together for the good of the person and for his or her growth towards human and spiritual maturity. '

p. 168

... is 'Identity'
The growth of a human being towards a deeper identity and greater openness corresponds to the emergence of the 'I.' It may not even be possible to see it happening. It does not bring honors or financial reward. It is something that happens inside ourselves, something to do with love and fidelity in love, something to do with justice, trust, communion with others and welcoming others. This growth in communion takes place particularly in people who are humble and socially unimportant. Those who are important and powerful will also become unimportant at the end of their lives, but during their time of 'importance' and power they are taken up with their need to exert their power.  

 

p. 169