Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap
in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success,
popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their
seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger
temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that
call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily
perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection.
As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left
alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, "Well, that proves once again
that I am a nobody." ... [My dark side says,] I am not good... I deserve
to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the
greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice
that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core
truth of our existence.
