Responding to Criticism

“Correct a wise man and he will love you. Correct a foolish man and he will hate you.”  Most people want to be wise, but listening to constructive criticism can be hard. Part of learning about ourselves is about learning about not only our strengths, but also our weaknesses. Henri Nouwen said, “Maybe we remember the few occasions in our life in which we were able to show someone we love our real self: not only our great successes but also our weaknesses and pains, not only our good intentions but also our bitter motives, not only our radiant face but also our dark shadow. It takes a lot of courage, but it might just open a new horizon, a new way of living.” When we live in a sense of community, we reveal both strengths and weaknesses.  Our humanity will always include some shortcomings, but when we realize our weak areas, we can grow and learn. A teacher I had in high school once reminded the class that you learn more from the questions you miss on the test than the ones you get right. No one gets through the exam of life with a perfect score. We will all make mistakes, but hopefully as we acknowledge our mistakes, we can learn to have conversations that solve problems and promote harmony and peace.