It was Meister Ekhart, a Dominican writer from the 13th century, who wrote: “No one can know God who does not know himself.”  Teresa of Avila said, “Almost all problems in the spiritual life stem from a lack of self-knowledge.” I am convinced that discerning God’s will, especially for leaders with diverse interests like myself, requires  an ever-deepening knowledge of oneself. Without it we find ourselves beyond our limits and overloaded. (Commitment to Scripture and the willingness to do God’s will, of course, is assumed). Why? Because God reveals Himself through what we cannot not do. He made us that way. The following story comes from the poet Rainer Maria Rilke as he advises a young man wondering if he should be a poet. The counsel applies to each of us as we sort out God’s priorities: “You ask whether your verses are good. You ask me. You have asked others before. You send. Read more.