Growing up

Growing up means listening to people but deciding for myself.
One of the paradoxes of our society is that, despite the greater possibilities of communication, more people intensely feel loneliness and isolation. So we try all the means we can to fit in, to, at least, find a few people whom we can call "friends". So we "shop around" to know people's tastes, their lifestyle, their values or ideologies, their faith. Then we try to pattern our life to theirs.
Of course there are also people who don't listen to the world outside because of stubbornness. This won't do, either. No one is perfect and we can see things better when we are confronted with others.
So where is growth, then?
To grow up means to listen to others because I am not the center of the world. Everything is not about me. But while listening, I decide for myself. I don't take everything hook, line and sinker, just because someone influential says so.
It takes patience because it needs time. I have to let what I hear sink deeper, but without self-recrimination, and trust that the Holy Spirit will help me to discern what is true and necessary in my life.
Change takes time. Real change has to start from within. People may think that nothing is happening because they only see what they see, and they tend to demand immediate results.
But I need to be patient with myself. The journey is long and lonely. I need to experience that Jesus loves me. It is His love that will transform my loneliness into a quiet union with Him in the secret of my heart.