Because I ask God for guilelessness

and the ability to live without deceit,

I am sure to be placed in situations where

                             to the very core   –   –   –

I yearn to be perceived of

as something than what I am.

He will easily be contented and filled with peace, whose conscience is pure.  Thou art none the holier if thou art praised, nor the viler if thou art reproached.  Thou art what thou art; and thou canst not be better than God pronounceth thee to be.  If thou considerest well what thou art inwardly, thou wilt not care what men will say to thee.  Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart: man looketh on the deed, but God considereth the intent.  It is the token of a humble spirit always to do well, and to set little by oneself.  Not to look for consolation from any created thing is sign of great purity and inward faithfulness.

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis