The Man in the Mirror

I haven't looked at myself in a long time, really looked inside. When I was a teenager, I used to stare into my eyes and wait until everything in the room became unfocused. I could see deeper inside my soul. Sometimes I would turn into this old man. Other times I would be different aspects of myself: a very masculine self, a feminine self, a heavier self, or a very emaciated self. These days I have to use a 5x mirror just to shave. I'm afraid looking closer isn't an option sometimes. But is it?

            When I was looking beyond my physical self, I was seeing myself through the eyes of my spirit. From this place—I called it my spiritual perch—I see an omniscient point of view of my own life—my successes and my failures without judgment. I can direct my actions without feeling engulfed in the outcome of what I'm about to try or experience. I believe this is an important aspect of spirituality to come to if you want to become a peaceful crystal in the chaos of life.

            All of us have work to do on ourselves. I will be the first one to admit that my life can sometimes be a struggle mentally. I fight with myself and my inner self to keep from sinking into old thoughts and beliefs about life and my authentic self. This happens mostly when I'm having an unhealthy day physically. It seems that when I'm burdened with pain or a headache, it throws me off my spiritual game. 

            Those old neuro pathways are hard to break, because they basically don't go away. They stick with us throughout our entire human life. So, learning to cope with what you see in the mirror is a big part of the responsibility of your life. But what you see physically doesn't have to be your only reality.

            I believe that we are more spirit and mind than we are human body. We are spirit housed in a body. We are spirit that breathes through a human body. But none of those definitions sound like we are only "the body itself." So, why make your full identity be just your physical body?

            So, when I look in the mirror, I consider a spiritual mirror. What is life showing me today? What bugs me? Who is irritating me? Who exactly is my mirror today? 

            If I see a fault in me and choose not to look at it, then I will reciprocally see that fault in others until I allow myself to be honest with myself. The mirror of life doesn't lie.  

            So, now that I'm authentic and honest with myself, I can begin to work on the necessary challenges in life that will make me stronger and more peaceful. 

            Lastly, I believe that the reason we work on ourselves is to overcome the challenge of the chaotic world, so we can be peace givers to others in the world. As we unravel the mystery of our own lives and become powerful beyond measure, we instinctively help others create stronger and better attitudes toward their own lives. 

            Our good work on ourselves is always reciprocal in spirit. Every time we get stronger, we enable some one else in the world to become stronger too. 

            And so it is!