Religion speaks of the relation of a person to themselves, of how we relate with ourselves when there is no one else to see us. How we temper our minds and hearts and learn to be the best person we can be. It is easier in many ways to simply look at religion as how we relate to the Divine, but when we remove ourselves from the equation we remove that which chooses and gives force to our choices.
We are each the person we spend all of our time with, the person whom our relation with affects all other relations. When we like ourselves, we are more likely to like other people. When we see ourselves as connivers, as people out to get the most for ourselves, we see other people as falling only into the categories of user and sucker. How we see ourselves affects everything in our lives.
Which begs the question of how we are supposed to see ourselves. There is not one simple answer. It’s not a matter of simply saying we should be X or Y and forcing ourselves into that mode, for we are all different people with different needs and desires. When we try to force ourselves to be other than we are, we simply make ourselves and those around us miserable.
Instead, we must first learn to love ourselves. Not as the young girl that preens in the mirror, but a true affection for who and what we are. In seeing ourselves as we are, we are bound to find flaws that we do not like, and start to work to change them. It is when we find ourselves worthwhile that we can even begin to try and make ourselves better.
We are each the center of our own Universe, the primary actor in our own personal dramas. When we treat ourselves with respect and room to grow, we give ourselves and the world around us a chance to improve as well.
Questions:
* How do you find love for yourself? What about that is hard? Is easy?
* What does being the center of your own Universe mean to you?
* What does it mean to know that everyone else you know is ALSO the center of the Universe to themselves?
* How do you see yourself? How accurate is that image? Is there something you’re trying to hide from yourself?