Paradox

When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes.

I believe and I doubt, 

I hope and get discouraged, 

I love and I hate, 

I feel bad about feeling good, 

and feel guilty about not feeling guilty. 

I am trusting and suspicious. 

I am honest and I still play games.

 Aristotle said I am a rationale animal; 

I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer. 

To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, 

the light side and the dark. 

In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God's grace means. 

As Thomas Merton put it, "A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God." 

- Brennan Manning