You Are Enough – The Spiritual Practice of You

Last updated on: October 5, 2026 at 9:52 am by Rob Giannamore

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You Are Enough – The Spiritual Practice of You 2026-10-05T09:52:20-04:00 Rob Giannamore

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In the history of my church tradition, George Whitefield began preaching outdoors to coal miners at Kingswood, near Bristol, in 1739. A later account famously described tears cutting white channels down the miners’ coal-blackened cheeks as they listened. Whitefield’s example helped persuade John Wesley—an Anglican priest initially uneasy with preaching outside consecrated buildings—to take his own message into the open air. On April 2, 1739, Wesley preached near Bristol to about three thousand people, drawing on the biblical promise of good news for the poor. In eighteenth-century England, this method reached working people who were often poorly served by established parish structures and helped shape the emerging Methodist revival. All Whitfiled preached was love and affirmed the goodness of God’s people to people who felt that they did not deserve this love.

In this final post in this series on contentment, I want to demonstrate that you are enough, that the spiritual practice of you is not practicing selfishness. It is practicing honoring your goodness and affirming your worth as a human. We all want to be loved and we all love. Sometimes however, life and people that fill our lives tear us down, destroy our sense of worth and make us feel invisible.

Living In Alignment with Our True Selves

Much of my writing reflects my lifelong journey with the contemplative life. Contemplation “helps us access our True Self, the part of us that is always connected to God. Contemplation teaches us how to live in this open place where we watch reality come and go. We learn from it and let it change us” (Rohr, 2016). When we practice being present, we begin to show up and sit with ourselves. When I teach my clients how to ground themselves and become more present, I find that they often resist. They may engage in all kinds of emotional and mental gymnastics to avoid the moment or change the subject. Being here now requires us to sit with our vulnerabilities. Sometimes, it helps us realize that we have always been loved and have always deserved love, despite what our experiences may have taught us. As this awareness grows, we can begin to bow with compassion toward our younger, wounded selves and declare our goodness back to ourselves. For many, this is deeply uncomfortable because so much of our identity can become wrapped up in distorted feelings of not being enough, not being loved enough, or being alone. Yet with God, you are always enough, and you are never alone.

Transforming our Lives Through Shadow work

Focusing on ourselves can be difficult, especially in the American context. Our life experiences—and particularly relationships with narcissistic people—can make healthy self-attention feel uncomfortable or even selfish. Yet each of us is a work in progress. Engaging in the spiritual practice of the self cultivates an awareness of the divine love in which we were all created. This awareness leads us into the practice of shadow work.

Shadow work is deep spiritual work. It requires us to explore the relationship between the conscious and the unconscious parts of ourselves.

Consciousness encompasses what is immediately present to our awareness: what we see, smell, touch, taste, and feel, along with the thoughts and beliefs we consciously recognize. The unconscious, by contrast, includes what lies beyond our immediate awareness.

The most significant difference between the conscious and the unconscious is their scope. Conscious awareness is limited to what we can recognize in a given moment, while the unconscious holds the thoughts, memories, impulses, and patterns that remain outside that awareness.

As a spiritual practice, shadow work can help us understand our true selves in relation to our faith traditions. In Christianity, it may help us awaken more fully to the life of Christ within us; in Buddhism, to our Buddha-nature; and in Islam, to our God-given dignity and our relationship with the Divine.

Reverence as a Practice of You

You are a beautiful creation of God.

As one rabbinic teaching explains, “There is another blessing the Rabbis teach us to recite, upon seeing someone of exceptional ugliness: ‘Blessed is God Who has created all different kinds of beings.’ Some people might recoil in horror at seeing deformity or ugliness; others might scream or make a face. The Rabbis teach us to recite a blessing, one that reminds us that this person, too, is a creature of God. Beneath the outward ugliness there is to be found a person who was created by and in the image of God” (Gershon Schwartz and Michael Katz, Swimming in the Sea of Talmud).

If you woke up today, say thank you. Then look in the mirror and, regardless of what you see, smile and offer another word of gratitude. Look beyond the scars, the fears, and the self-doubt, and recognize the Divine presence within you. You are not only looking at yourself; you are also beholding the image of Divine—and it is exceptionally good.

Questions for Reflection

What experiences or relationships have shaped the way you understand your worth?
What helps you become present to yourself and to the Divine presence within you?
Which hidden fears, wounds, or beliefs might be inviting you into deeper shadow work?
How would your life change if you truly believed that you are enough and never alone?
What daily practice could help you honor the image of the divine in yourself and in others?

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