A look in the mirror

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”10/12″][vc_custom_heading source=”post_title” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

I have seen my enemy, and he is me.

For many, this is a time for self-reflection and pursuit of change. Why now? Frankly because of a rather arbitrary date on a very specific calendar. Many will look back at the previous year, and make promises to themselves on how they can improve things for themselves. This is by no means a bad inclination. Self-improvement is NEVER an undesirable goal. Actually, that is ultimately what life is all about. Change is the very definition of progress in life. However, for change to be effective, we have to be truly committed to it. It does not matter WHAT level of change, it only happens if we truly WANT it to happen.

And that is too often where we fail.

I am by no means perfect. For that matter, to me perfection is a myth; an unattainable goal. Perfection implies that there is an end to growth; that eventually there will be nothing more to learn. Not only do I not believe that is possible, I think it would be awfully boring. So how do I grow? By making mistakes. By observing others, and questioning how I would act in their circumstances. And most importantly, by observing MYSELF. I make no claims to special wisdom. I don’t have the arrogance to believe that I am RIGHT about everything, nor do I wish to convince others that they should behave or believe in certain ways. But I do make the claim to have seeing eyes. And I do make the claim to know when something is definitely WRONG.

I am committed to change. Changing myself. Changing my environment. Maybe even changing the world. But in reality the only one that matters is changing myself. All else will follow from that. I will explore some of that change in future posts, as well as on other blogs, but for now I am sharing some observations that have helped ME grow. Maybe others can benefit from them as well.

  1. We can only experience life through our OWN eyes. That means if we dislike something about someone else, it can only be a reflection of something within ourselves that we do not like.
  2. Friendship and love are just two levels of the same concept. Neither is true if it REQUIRES something in return. Then it is NOT unconditional. Neither mean that partners have to agree on everything, nor do they mean thinking exactly alike. Their true strength is in existing DESPITE differences.
  3. We are all ultimately the same. We all have the same basic needs and desires. We all seek the same concepts … meaning for our lives, a moral compass, to feel loved and needed, to survive in some measure of comfort. That is really the core of EVERYTHING we do. The differences are just in the details.
  4. Spirituality is developing our own relationship with divinity and truth. Religion is using divinity as a tool to MANIPULATE truth.
  5. Those who are the most adamant about “KNOWING” are invariably the most insecure in their knowledge.
  6. All emotions have value, as long as we use THEM. When the emotion takes control, we are lost.
  7. Humanity is DEFINED by conflict. It is when we face difficulties that we truly grow. Homogenous culture is neither in human nature, nor a productive path for humans. Being exactly the same as everyone else is simply NOT part of life.
  8. No one can OWN an idea.
  9. Actually no one can OWN anything. At best we have temporary custodianship over something.
  10. Life is actually extremely fair. Thinking we do not deserve what it offers is actually proof of fairness. If it were unfair, it would only pick on people who “deserve it”. The fact that it does not is the definition of “random sample”.

Before we start judging others; before we start looking for reasons why things don’t go our way in the actions of others, maybe we need to be sure we are truly acquainted with ourselves.  Only then can we truly make a difference in the world that we are part of … for it is part of us as well.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][/vc_row]