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Compliments

What is a compliment really? 

It is the external acknowledgment of something positive. It is praise. 

What does it mean? 

Is it meant to encourage? Express desire? Manipulate? 

We interpret compliments through our own lens. So what happens when the lens is broken? Clouded? Compliments become distorted. They blur. And this distortion makes them untrustworthy. And what do we do when something is untrustworthy? We dismiss it. We run from it. We counter it. We fight it. 

How do we give compliments when our receiving lens is broken? What do they mean? Are they self serving? Can they be trusted? 

Is my lens clear? Is my vision distorted? I know it is. What do I use to repair a lens? What is the barometer by which I calibrate my self worth? Scripture? But scripture interpreted by who? The hands that fed me scripture were the very hands that broke the lens.

Maybe the answer is not to repair the broken lens. Maybe the answer is to replace the lens entirely. 

V


Comments

Jenn said…
Thought-provoking. It's always so hard to receive compliments, and I have never dug into the why.
December 14, 2023 at 10:16 AM
Looking for the T[ea] said…
I love the journey of analysis and wrestling with rectifying.
December 14, 2023 at 1:39 PM
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