bettering

I asked “am I better?”
The answer was “you’re bettering”.

That’s a word to ponder. It turns out it is a real word.  I had thought it was a kind of made-up word that stood for “not better, but getting there”.

I found a definition of bettering – “improve on or surpass; changing for the better; in less discomfort than before”.

So I am, in fact, bettering.

It’s easy over time to add layers to our lives– good and not-so-good layers.  Sometimes the latter color, or hide, the former.  So I look at bettering as a sign that some of the negative layers are being peeled away so the more positive layers can see daylight, even see sunlight.

Adding layers is easier that removing. Not all underneath is made of goodness.  Unlayering uncovers both goodness and “not-goodness”.

Hard stuff this uncovering.  And one has to be made of hard stuff to do the cleaning up and out. Am I?

Well, yes and no.  But I have help and that’s what is making the difference for me to be bettering.

“God is in the helpers.”  Anne Lamott