Who Am I? An Invitation to Patient Trust

An Invitation to Patient Trust

January often arrives with noise: resolve this, fix that, become better, try harder. And yet… what if this year begins not with answers, but with a question?

Who am I?

Not the version required by the calendar, nor the polished self-offered to the world, but the quieter, more authentic self that is still unfolding. This month, I want to invite you into something gentler than resolution and deeper than reinvention. I want to invite you into patient trust.

In my own prayer recently, I returned to the Prayer of Patient Trust by Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, that has walked with me for years. A prayer that does not rush the soul forward, but instead teaches it how to wait, how to stay, how to trust the slow work of God unfolding within us.

It names something we often resist:

Accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

What if incompleteness is not a failure, but a gift? What if the very places that feel undefined, unsettled, or unfinished are the places where God is most actively at work?

Discovering Who We Are… Discovering Who God Is

The spiritual journey, at its heart, is not about self-improvement. It is about self-discovery, and that discovery is never separate from God. As we grow in awareness of who we are, our longings, our fears, our patterns, our tenderness, we begin to recognize God moving within that very terrain. We discover that God is not outside the process but intimately involved in it. And something else happens, too.

As we make room to know ourselves with honesty and compassion, we slowly make room to know others the same way. Curiosity replaces judgment. Empathy softens certainty. Love expands.

A dear friend once shared with me that the Great Commandment is really threefold:

Love God. Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Not as self-indulgence, but as holy groundwork. Because it is through loving ourselves rightly that we learn how God loves, and it is through that love that we learn how to see God alive in others.

A Different Way to Begin the Year

So this week, we are not setting goals. We are not outlining plans. We are not striving toward transformation. Instead, we are simply entering. Entering the question of who we are, the way we currently describe ourselves, and the words that come easily… and the ones that don’t.

You might notice labels, roles, stories, or expectations rise up. You might notice resistance, tenderness, or curiosity instead. All of it is welcome. There is no rush here. No delay either. Just presence.

A Simple Invitation to Begin

Take a quiet moment when you are ready.

Place your feet on the ground.

Let your breath settle naturally.

Feel the texture of where you are sitting… the support beneath you.

Then gently ask yourself:

Who am I… right now?

Do not edit the response. Do not spiritualize it. Do not correct it. Simply notice what arises. You may want to write a few words, hold a single phrase, or simply sit with the question. Trust that grace is already at work.

This month will unfold slowly. We will explore texture, sensation, story, and prayer together. We will move carefully within a safe, spacious container. For now, let it be enough to begin.

Trust the slow work.

Remain curious.

Accept the gift of becoming.

From the garden within me to the garden within you,

Kimi