Wholeness Part 1
May 19, 2026
Wholeness Part 1
Welcome to this week’s daily Reflections on “Wholeness.”
Regardless of what happens, we are whole. Even during scarcity, sickness, conflict, and loss, we are whole and free. We may not feel whole, we may feel wounded and depleted. We may feel there is a gaping hole in us. But even with these challenges, the truth is we are whole.
How is it possible that we humans can be whole instead of broken by our problems? It may sound contradictory, but our wounds and holes are part of our wholeness. Our shame, our misconduct, our sadness, and our shadow side are all part of our wholeness. We are systems that are developing — working to express our ultimate purpose. We are not perfectly finished products as some would like us to believe. We are in the process of growth.
Our lacks, our holes, and deficiencies are part of the entire system. If we were flawless, we would not be a working totality. We would have nothing to do except be flawless. And because we were flawless, there would be no reason to grow, to improve, to develop, to transform. Human wholeness includes the aspects of us that need healing, empowering, acknowledgment, blessing, and expression. Fulfilling their needs is the work of the soul. This is real wholeness— our completeness.
Why is it a common assumption we think our deficiencies prevent us from being whole? Some of us say things about ourselves like, “if only I weren't so stubborn, or if I had more intelligence, or if I were more spiritually or physically fit, I would be more whole.” It is easy to fall into the self-depreciating mode and think that our deficits take a chunk out of us… damage us … leave us with something missing. However, our deficits and deficiencies are essential to our wholeness. In fact, these deficits can be our inspiration, our raison d’être, without which we cannot truly be working wholeness.
Acceptance of our deficiencies is the first step to realizing our completeness. When we admit to ourselves that we do not have it all together, that we are far from being flawless, and we do not know it all, (even in our area of expertise) we make space for our deficits to become part of ourselves… we no longer distance ourselves from these aspects as alien parts to be shunned, repressed, disregarded, or denied. We include them as part of our identity, our wholeness. Our deficits, our brokenness serve to connect us to others, which forms community.
This week, we reflect on the beauty of wholeness, the fascinating paradoxes within it, and some of its common misconceptions. The intention of reflecting about wholeness is to understand how to love ourselves and others in our totalities.
Spiritual practice: Think about the part of you that you may regard as a defect or deficiency. Is it a blight on your perfection? Is it a hole in your otherwise flawless being? Is it a subject of shame, anger, or fear? If you have not already done this, consider acknowledging how this aspect can be listened to, understood, and even honored. It even teaches us. Then we can incorporate this aspect into your total being.
Self-inquiry: What would prevent you from including a deficit into the concept of your wholeness?
Prayer:
Dear God, Though we are on a journey to greater wholeness, we are everything we need to be. I pray that this truth becomes part of my heart. Amen
