Categories: spirituality, swansea
Date: 31 March 2006 14:10:02
My lecture this morning was good fun. But it also made me think - about myself. It was on interpersonal skills and therapeutic relationships. As a class we did a couple of exercises where the rest of the class had to describe each person. When we had been told what we had to do, my first thought was 'eek! - what do my coursemates know about me?'. Anything?
When it came to my turn, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. They knew I like walking and cycling. They knew I went to church - something I was very glad they knew, because I'm aware I do have a bad habit of avoiding that subject around my non Christian coursemates. They could also say that I babysit, at which point one of the mothers in the group said 'ooh!!! I didn't know that!'
But, there was one person in the group, who I would say knows me better than most, who said she thinks I lead 'a secret life'. And at the end when we had to come up with one or two, summarising words, she said 'mysteriously interesting'. My initial reaction to these comments was 'um, that sounds kinda dodgy....'! But, after thinking about it, I know what they mean. I come into lectures, sit with these people, chat to them, and then go home. I lead a busy social life, but this rarely involves my coursemates. Many of the activities I do outside my course, are centred around church and I often feel as though I can't share this with my coursemates.
So, in many ways, it is a kind of secret life. At least from their point of view. Is that right? I dunno. I do feel bad about not sharing / talking more about that aspect of my life. But, they're not majorly important people in my life, and I don't want to come across as if I'm preaching to them or trying to tell them how to live their lifes. Its just difficult, trying to find a compromise - somewhere between shouting your faith from the roof tops and scaring everyone, and not saying anything at all about it.