Do You Like What You See in the Mirror?
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“To love is to recognize oneself in another.”
~ Eckhart Tolle
Everyone we meet offers us the divine opportunity to see ourselves with a little more clarity. I used to throw the word “hate” around freely, as in: “I seriously hate that person.” And yes, I’d say it half-joking. I mean, I didn’t really hate that person. Did I? But yes, a piece of me was as serious as a heart attack. Thoughts and feelings of hatred—as harsh as they seemed—were natural to me.
In a sense, hate was a part of me. Did I hate the way they looked—or the way they looked at me? Was it them I hated—or was it me? I have come to realize it was me.
If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.” ~Hermann Hesse
A deep-seated sense of helpless frustration held me hostage with hatred. My mom had cancer; I felt pissed. My brother had schizophrenia; I felt trapped. I could fix neither of these situations.
And so, I hated. I hated that I felt helpless. I hated that I felt out of control. And, in turn, I hated others.
A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror.” ~ Ken Keyes, Jr.
Life kept holding a mirror before my face, inviting me to see myself more clearly—both the parts I needed to change and the pieces I needed to set free.
But, I stayed blind, busying myself so I wouldn’t have to pay attention. The last thing I wanted to face was the dissatisfaction, the sadness, the helplessness reflected back at me. Oh my! How the people I met along the way revealed the worst parts of them—ahem, I mean—me.
Finally, as I began to open my eyes to the gifts I needed to embrace, my soul’s beautiful, true colors emerged. A friend introduced me to Transcendental Meditation, a process through which I learned to see the divine threads that weave together:
you me us them the birds the trees every living thing.
As I awakened to the wellspring of abundant love within and around me, the hate and hostility that had plagued me for so long began to die off. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I used the word “hate” (let alone felt it). What seems to have replaced “hate” is this: deep and honest and fearless . . . love.
Life Loves You
7 Spiritual Practices to Heal Your Life
- By Louise Hay & Robert Holden
“We see things not as they are, but as we are. Thus, the world mirrors the basic truth about us which is, I am loveable. And it also mirrors the basic fear, I am not loveable.” Read the Book >
In the off chance that I stumble across someone who strikes a nerve inside of me, I no longer think, “What a loser.” Instead, I turn inward and ask myself, “What can I learn from the soul who stands before me?”
I seek the gift. I listen for the lesson. I look to grow. And, I simply choose to send that person love. I offer up a prayer that they too might soon see the stroke of the divine underlying all things.