Mirrors are not there to be understood, but to be loved. The more we love the ‘mirror’, the more we ultimately allow, accept and appreciate ourselves. And this is our journey of awakening – our return ‘home’.
The World Around Us Is a Mirror
Once we realise that our perception is filtered by what we believe, something else comes into focus. What we notice in others, and what keeps showing up around us, may be telling us something about what we carry within.
Sooner or later, most of us notice a pattern. The same kind of person keeps appearing in our lives, the same situation keeps returning, and the same button keeps being pressed. It is tempting to look for the cause out there. Yet many voices, ancient and modern, point in another direction: the world around us is a mirror, and what it shows us is often what we have not yet been willing to see in ourselves.
“It seems as if the very thing I cannot see and don’t want to see about me, keeps showing up around me.” – Iyanla Vanzant, Don’t Give It Away
This is not about blame. In fact, blame is part of what keeps the mirror hidden from us.
“Unconscious blame must be brought into awareness, because it influences how we perceive reality, creating a blame-suppression cycle.” – John Ruskan, Emotional Clearing
“When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.” – Confucius
What if the people who trouble us most are not obstacles, but messengers? They may be showing us something we are carrying, even if we can’t yet say what it is.
“Every reality in your mind sets up an energy wave to attract people who are in tune with that reality. The people we attract then trigger the reality within us, but the trigger does not cause our feelings, it only resonates what is already there.” – Dr. Michael Ryce, Why Is This Happening to Me… Again?
“As a result of unconscious projection, we observe and react to our unrecognized personal traits in other people.” – William A. Miller, Finding the Shadow in Daily Life
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” – Carl Jung
Taking this in doesn’t mean that other people’s behaviour is always our fault, or that we should put up with harm. It means that whatever we meet, we are free to ask a gentler and more powerful question: what is this showing me about me?
Take a few quiet minutes with your journal. Who or what keeps showing up in your life right now, and what might it be reflecting back to you?
“It is no use to blame the looking glass if your face is awry.” – Nikolai Gogol
