Some recent conversations I’ve had have involved the subject of ‘mirrors’ and the reflection we see when we look in the mirror. The mirror can be one of the hardest places to stand, because we often use it to uncover and correct our blemishes, rather than to see and appreciate the beauty within. Mirrors tend to be much better at exposing acne, crows feet and scars than they do at showing us our inner qualities. Often, we believe the lie of the blemish rather than the truth of the beauty.
In the past week, I’ve had the opportunity to speak to several close friends who have been instrumental in reflecting my character back to me, rather than the flaws. Quality people will see the diamond inside of you before it’s been mined, cut and polished.
That being said, observation of character is not a universal concept. Some people may draw out your strengths and inner qualities because they have manipulative, malicious intent to use them for their own purposes. They want you to believe they are one of the few rare ones who see your inner assets, thus creating a sense of dependency and debt to this person for being able to see what others have not.
Shed these people from your life, immediately.
What I respect most about the people I live my life with is that they offer constructive criticism – when needed – in addition to clearly articulating the strengths and qualities they see…without jealous motivations or expectation. It’s the reason I can sit down with my closest friends and share our successes, failures, heartbreaks and victories; we are in the same race together and are sincerely interested in helping each other cross the proverbial finish line. Ego is abandoned.
Speaking to my brother, last night, I shared this idea with him and it seemed to resonate with where he is at in life. In The Ugly Dachshund, the large great dane forgets it is a large dog because it is constantly surrounded by dachshunds.
There are many sheep in this world who choose to follow the butt in front of them. Culture does an excellent job of taking the lions among us and trying to cram them into the gates of the sheep being led to slaughter. Sadly, many lions lose the grandeur of their heart and simply fall in line.
Get out of line and roar.
It can often be lonely when you ditch the direction you know in your heart to not be true. However, time always brings others around who have experienced the same. And these individuals are the ones you want to have in your life – for the rest of your life.
“It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.”
Featured Image From Deviantart
No Comments