Tuesday, July 1, 2008

We Can Only See Who We Are

I found this quote in the book "Reiki & Other Rays of Touch Healing" written by Kathleen Milner on page 33:

"We can only see who we are. What we do not like, even hate and despise in others, is where we need to begin our own healing. It is a difficult realization and a most uncomfortable process to go through. Denial is far easier. However, for those with the strength of heart to look within and ask, 'What is this individual mirroring in me?' Great change, release and transformation is possible. In this way, we all serve as teachers to one another."

This is one book that I read that had some confusing ideas for me and some ideas that I just couldn't even go there but the above quote, I thought was well worth sharing. It is what I have come to believe. You don't have to agree with me any more than I agree with some of what I read in the book. What sometimes works for me is to just be open to the possibility that there is some truth in the statement or the idea.

So often we think the above quote, "We can only see who we are" applies to just the things that we don't like in other people. That isn't true. It also applies to the things that we like and even love about other people. The things that we admire in other people---trustworthiness, compassion, kindness, joy, healing abilities and so much more---we also have in us or we would not recognise it in others. When you see someone that you greatly admire or look up to, you have those very same qualities in yourself. We all carry that same greatness in us. If we didn't, we wouldn't recognise it in others.

Today, I challenge you to step up and meet the greatness that is you.
Patricia

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

HI Patricia,

What beautiful shared thoughts!

A child of abuse has a greater
difficulty to see the good within themselves.

Deb to self..."Hello you wonderful caring person. The world is indeed enriched because of your being here."

I took the challenge and said those words to myself... and then HOW I was NUDGED to actually post them right in my comment.

Ewwww that was not easy, but in doing so it feels great.

Your soul ~shines~ in your words Patricia. Hmmm but as you are sharing with me... it takes one to know one. wink

Love
Deb

Patricia Singleton said...

Deb, doesn't it feel great to let your Light shine for you and others to see. Others usually see our Light long before we do. Today and every day, let your Light shine for the world to see. The world is a better place because we are in it.

Anonymous said...

Patricia, this is such a great quote! It's true that it is challenging to acknowledge that what truly bothers us about others is what we most need to address within ourselves. Boy, that's been an uncomfortable one for me many, many times. However, I've found it to be true.

I do so celebrate the truth of what you say - that we can only see the magnificence within others that is also present in ourselves. Hurray for that!

Funny how we can't have one without the other, huh? Life is a perfect mirror. We just need to get out the Windex ...

Blessings,
Andrea

Patricia Singleton said...

Andrea, Hooray for the shining mirrors that come into our lives and show us the secret and not-so-secret parts of ourselves.

Anonymous said...

Great quote, Patricia!

I absolutely agree wholeheartedly. I often stand back within myself and observe the critical or negative responses and judgments I have toward other people.

I know - have heard it so many times, from so many sources - that we are always acting as mirrors for one another, so anything you respond to in another, good or bad, resonates with you because of a similarity (or lack of similarity).

On some level, you are always responding to yourself. It's very interesting what you discover when you take this approach.

Patricia Singleton said...

Slade, I love the response that this article is getting. It has always been easier for me to see the negative in other people as also being inside me. It is only recently that I have started seeing the greatness of other people in me as well. What an empowering feeling. Boy, I have been using the word empower in all of its forms a lot this week. It feels great to empower yourself and to become aware of how others are becoming empowered also.

Anonymous said...

Patricia - The quote rings true on how others mirror what's going on in us. It takes courage to sit with that and apply it to our lives every day.

You sure respond to life differently when you do.

Enjoyed your post.

Blessings,

Patricia Singleton said...

Hi, Pat, it is nice to have you visit. You definitely respond to life and people differently when you see the value of looking in the mirror and seeing yourself in others.

Lance said...

This is a great quote Particia. And well-explained by you. I really like what you said at the end, about seeing in others what we have in ourselves. It's a wonderful thought for today - thanks!

Anonymous said...

Awesome quote. So true. And not so easy to do! But that is the path to greatness. And that's why so few people choose that path!

Thanks for sharing this Patricia.

Patricia Singleton said...

Edward, thank you. It is what I know to be true for me. Just this morning I looked for what someone was mirroring for me and it was my own past fears. Sometimes the mirror is to show you how far you have come from who you once were.

Patricia Singleton said...

Lanceman, thank you. It is words that I have lived with for awhile even before I found the quote that so simply expressed my own thoughts about people being mirrors for us. Most of us seem to be able to except the bad easier than the good. They are both true.

Anonymous said...

( greatness ) looking in the mirror lately i have been asking what is it that people see? Just like the question you pose here in this post. I of course can find only the lines that have appeared, the hair in the wrong place, the double chin - and yet I feel that what greatness in me and what is most admired is the being or the person inside. Seemingly that's the connecting, the magnet that pulls, the spirit that shines. Truth is, also as you have stated here...is that what draws me to others. The inside stuff.

Patricia Singleton said...

Mother Earth, beautiful insights. Thanks for sharing your greatness with me.

Anonymous said...

Hi Patricia,

This post reminds me of a saying I heard. When we point a finger at someone else, we have three pointing back at ourselves.

I always remember that. Just like your post, we do mirror others in our lives.

This is a great post to ponder.

Patricia Singleton said...

Barbara, I am glad that you found something interesting to think about in my post. Thanks for visiting.

Anonymous said...

Although I have not read the book you mention, I share the philosophy. Many other people do as well, even if it is unconscious. Just because you notice something does not mean you choose to integrate it into your life or change the way you perceive the world. Nonehteless, something tells me this implies new levels of awareness are already on the way. You sense them as well.

Patricia Singleton said...

Liara, many more people are awakening in consciousness and yes, there is more to come and I do sense it.