In order to discover their gift, which is cheerful tranquility or serenity, Ones must first realize that they are not that good.
Artwork by Nelson Kane Design
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
"The Enneagram (Part 1)"
"Type One: The Need to Be Perfect"
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
I like to start by describing the One, because it is my Enneagram number; and if you’ll allow me to first make fun of myself, then hopefully you’ll allow me to do it with your number later.
The One is the reformist compulsion of the gut triad. Ones need to be perfect, and for a One this means feeling that they are right and good. Ones are idealists, motivated and driven by the longing for a true, just, and moral world. Somewhere in their childhood, they experienced the world as beautiful and perfect. And it’s no wonder, because their “Soul Child,” or original dream of life, is the joyful Seven. I remember moments that were so wonderful, so serene, so whole, with no need to eliminate anything. (Did you notice my happy, smiling seven-year-old self on the banner?) God was in it and I was in it and life all made sense. Then somewhere later on I realized, “Darn it, it isn’t a perfect world!” So I moved to the impossible conviction: “I’m going to find a way to make it perfect.” And that became my entrapped Enneagram One position. It’s the original, positive soul experience that all the types are trying to recreate, but their new agenda becomes an entrapped “false self.”
Ones are often good teachers and reformers. They can spur others to work and mature and grow. The demanding, critical voices within them make it hard for Ones to live with imperfection—especially their own. “Anger” is their root sin, although they seldom get directly angry. It is more a low-level resentment because the world is not the way they know it should be! They repress their anger because they see it as something imperfect in themselves. At the same time, it energizes them to work really hard for their ideals and principles. Talk about an inner conflict! Ones are driven toward righteousness, arrogance, and perfectionism. They unfortunately believe in meritocracy: you get what you deserve, so you’d better be good and work hard. There is no free lunch! That is why the concept of grace is so foundationally important for me; it alone breaks down all this silly merit-badge thinking.
In order to discover their gift, which is cheerful tranquility or serenity, Ones must first realize that they are not that good. They may have to “sin boldly” to see this, or at least recognize that every good thing they have ever done has also involved self-interest. Then they can experience unearned grace, which finally allows them to be at peace and happy—even with imperfection.
Adapted from The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective, pp. 49, 52-55, and The Enneagram: The Discernment of Spirits (CD, DVD, MP3 download)
Gateway to Silence: I want to see all—my sin and my gift.
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