Member-only story
The world we perceive on the outside is only a projection of how we are on the inside. What we observe in another human being is only a reflection of how we first feel about ourselves. In other words, the outer world is a mirror of our inner world.
Since everything that happens to us in life is only a projection of our inner self, it is very effective to use every situation, and every external event as an indication to better understand ourselves if we want to grow.
The reality outside of us simply serves to point us to those sides of our character, those angles of our personality, and those aspects of our unconscious self that we stubbornly refuse to see.
Every person we meet, in fact, is there to remind us of some aspects of ourselves.
Every time we notice some traits we do not like in someone (but the reasoning also applies to aspects we like), those traits are actually something that belongs to us.
Instead of criticizing the things we don’t like in others, we would be very wise to ask ourselves WHY, of all things, we noticed those aspects.
Remember that what we observe in other individuals is a reflection of what we first feel about ourselves.
Hence, this gives us a great opportunity to change our inner world so that we can change the outer world too.
THE STORY OF TWO DOGS
There is a story they tell of two dogs. Both dogs, at separate times, walk into the same room. One comes out, wagging his tail, while the other comes out growling. A woman, watching this, enters the room to see what could make one dog so happy and the other so mad. To her surprise, she finds a place filled with mirrors. The happy dog found a thousand happy dogs looking back at him, while the angry dog saw only mad dogs growling back at him. What you see in the world around you reflects who you are.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
This story teaches us that we are able to see ourselves reflected in others.
When we mirror ourselves, that is, look at others, and see only negativity, it means that we harbor frailties, weaknesses, and fears within us.
