Mirror mirror on the wall – seeing things as you should

By Ara 'Julga' Harathunian

Self-reflection is a powerful tool we often overlook. Just as the original mirrors were not the reflective glass we are used to today - but polished stone, gold, or brass - our self-perception can be murky and lacking in distinction.

Take a moment to adjust your perspective and see yourself clearly.

Do we recognise ourselves accurately, or is our self-image blurred? Are we too critical of ourselves because we focus too closely on our flaws? Let's examine the perspectiv

es.

Overlooking the issues

Take a 'mirror mirror' approach to understanding yourself.

When we fail to see ourselves as we should, we often overlook many of our own issues while focusing on finding fault in others. We may justify certain behaviours because we have a blind spot in our self-perception. We should use sober judgment when evaluating how we see ourselves.

If you've ever looked into a magnification mirror, you'll see every flaw. Every freckle, wrinkle and blemish is 15 times blown up, and is all you see. That's how it is when we are too self-critical, and life is hard enough without having yourself as your own worst enemy.

Looking at yourself in the right way is essential.

How you see yourself

We must test ourselves to understand who we are.

In a world filled with information, we often lack true wisdom. We must compare how we live with the cry within us.

We often allow personal agendas to influence us. This can lead to habits that negatively impact us, often without notice. It takes someone to challenge us to re-evaluate to live as we should.

How others see you

There are three ways people typically fall into this category:

The Showboats: These people work to present the best version of themselves. They wear their finest watches and clothes, and polish their car, and weave their successes into every conversation. They focus more on how people perceive them than how authentic they are.

The Pretenders: These people seem to not care about others' opinions, but deep down they crave acceptance, admiration and respect. They want to convey a persona of being well-read, educated and professional and it hurts when they feel overlooked or disrespected.

The Unconcerned: These people have distanced themselves from validation, but in doing so may have overcompensated by disregarding filters and judgment to create an "us against the world" mindset. This may result in isolation.

But what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? The hard lesson here is that there is nothing we can do, buy, wear, drive or live that should, or can, impress. It comes down to the person we are in our Spirit.

We need to be concerned about how we are seen in our Spirit.

Compare what we see now with what we will see in the future. Currently, we perceive a dimly lit mirror; with our understanding limited. That will change as we grow and mature, and the mirror will grow clearer and we will see things more distinctly.

Take insight into how we view ourselves, how others perceive us, and how our spirit sees us. Of all of these perspectives, the only one that truly matters is our Spirit.

Now, I pose these questions:

- How do you see yourself?

- How do others see you?

- How does your Spirit see you?

I challenge you to be honest about yourself, about the person on whom you reflect and focus, because it should represent your authenticity and genuine Spirit.

Go Well ,Stay Well and Be Well