Mirror Effect

Last year I was lucky to be present with John at a lecture, where Deepak Chopra spoke (what a magical speaker!) and one of the understandings I came away with that night, the concept that when you "find fault" or feel "bothered" by another human being, it is usually a reflection of something you ultimately do not like in yourself!

I was stunned.

It touched me deeply; deep in my heart AND my mind, to be exact.

I started to intertwine this concept into my daily existence, and learned a whole lot about myself. Sides perhaps I ignored, neglected... It has been very interesting. It did my marriage a world of good too; less critical of my partner, first contemplating about any possible lurking irritation about him... Thinking "perhaps a reflection of myself?"... "What am I not seeing about my own actions?" It has been an interesting journey of self-discovery, and a powerful lesson in Humility.

This concept also holds true in your friendships; today something happened that made me re-visit this topic. And again...It humbled me... The same friend that inspired me to emerge into the world of 'blog', wrote something in one of her (awesome!) communications that made me first react, then think, and then think again... It captivated my being the entire day. One of the first thoughts that came to me when reading her thoughts on a particular subject was "did we not discuss this earlier with one another", and "did I not suggest and mention this diagnosis to you before"; I felt that obviously she had not listened to me, or even had taken me seriously before, especially since this topic had to do with my field of expertise. I was perplexed. I clearly remembered discussing it with her... Why did she not "hear" me back then, I thought to myself? She seemed very interested.

So, I was on my way to Baha'i children's class at the Cabin, a 30-minute drive on a wonderfully beautiful autumn morning; my thoughts flowed back to Deepak... And by the end of that gorgeous drive, I came to the dreadful conclusion that perhaps I was finally ready to discover another "challenge" within my personality: perhaps I was the one who was not always "hearing"?!!..

I am grateful to my dear friend -who never seizes to amaze me- for allowing me to view her materialized thoughts, to learn something new about myself, and to try and improve on it. I am really grateful.

Thank you for being a mirror today.