Autumn Reflection, Tucker Pond, Warner, NH, October 2006, HP Photosmart R817, Exposure 1/630 sec @ f4.5, ISO 100, no flash © Steven Crisp [Click on the photo to enlarge]The world is your mirror.Surely, this is overly simplified, perhaps even a bit Pollyanna, right? If there is injustice, inequality, and despair in the world, then what the world needs are acts of altruism, assistance, and activism, not self-indulgent naval gazing. Right?
The good you find in others, is in you too.
The faults you find in others, are your faults as well.
After all, to recognize something you must know it.
The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well. The beauty you see around you, is your beauty. The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.
To change your world, you must change yourself. To blame and complain will only make matters worse. Whatever you care about, is your responsibility. What you see in others, shows you yourself.
See the best in others, and you will be your best. Give to others, and you give to yourself. Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful. Admire creativity, and you will be creative.
Love, and you will be loved. Seek to understand, and you will be understood. Listen, and your voice will be heard. Teach, and you will learn.
-- Unknown author
I don't know. I find these to be powerful words, that strike in me a resonant chord of truth.
These ideas do not work well in the world of "them" and "us". If our goal is to manipulate, cajole, conquer, or exploit, then I don't recommend this be adopted as your manifesto. And of course, that is the point.
This reflects the great insights of all of the religious and mythic traditions of the world: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In any language, from many cultures, the so-called Golden Rule. And why is that wisdom universal? In our work-a-day world, because it is the only concept that will "scale". At the level of truth, because it reflects the inherent wholeness and oneness of the world.
We reflect others in our mirror, because that is the mirror of awareness. Awaken to that ultimate truth. You, and only you, hold that power deep inside.
2 comments:
I prefer the golden rule as written negatively:
Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful. "UdanaVarga"
Words have the meaning that we give them. Simple words can speak volumes just as complex words can say nothing.
I love the "mirror" reflection of the autumn leaves. Thank you for sharing such beauty. It reminds me of home.
Honeybee,
Yes words mean only what we want them to mean, and are really not a very good means of communication.
Think thought A, filter through me, express words B.
Transmit to another.
Receives words B, filters through them, thinks thought C.
This is why direct experiential insights are so powerful and transforming. Even though words are but a poor substitute, we can realize we have been in touch with the same experience.
And somehow, that gives me hope, that we can indeed come to see the world as a flawlessly polished mirror (as the rare pond conditions allowed for the photograph)and to realize that if we want to receive Love, we only need to transmit Love.
Here's to realizing that you are always home. Welcome.
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