I see you in the windows reflecting back at me as I walk down the street. You normally call no attention to yourself. To others who cross your path they may not remember the stride you take or the look you have crossing your face in quiet contemplation. You march through the rest of the day not realizing the ripple affect you leave behind on everything you come in contact with. As you turn the light off for the night you pause, clearly you see the person standing in front of you. The mirror reflects clearly what the world sees everyday and you stop and ask such a simple question that leads to the most complex of answers.......if I met myself today would I even like me?
Treat others the way you want to be treated is something each and every one of us memorized as a small child. It was the basic foundation that would assist us in building the house that would be home to the very basic part of ourselves that would dictate how we would treat others for the rest of our lives. The house would crumble so many times as we came in to our own but the foundation, the foundation of goodness would remain and for some would always win out in the end.
As you focus on what you see reflecting back at you can you recall if you smiled at a single stranger? Were you quick to judge but lagged in asking for forgiveness? The love you put out in to the world, was it a love you would want returned back to you?
I am sick. At times I am very sick. Sicker than I ever let on to those closest to me let alone the strangers I come across on any given day. It is a disease that will not see a cure in my lifetime and that is not admitting defeat it is realizing the realistic and frightening truth of what some of us live through and will struggle with for the rest of our lives. I wear this as a silent badge of honor that only those privileged will ever see shine from my aura that surrounds me in shades of pure beauty uninterrupted by pain and fear. this badge of courage has redirected my life in so many ways.
I have witnessed some of the most beautiful moments of giving and felt the harsh reality of judgement from those who can not fathom something they can not tangibly see or feel. It is a discrimination and painful truth for those of us who live with silent and invisible to the naked eye diseases that rage on within and deal with on a daily basis. Isolation is what guides us into the nights as we settle in alone. I am the one who is left reflecting on the kindness of strangers found in the simplest of forms throughout the day. I wonder if there is someone I may have hurt and did I find that humbling moment of sorrow and sorry, did I ask for forgiveness and even more important did I give forgiveness where forgiveness was needed?
Tonight as you drift off to sleep ask yourself that question one last time, the most basic one of all......if you met yourself on the street today would you even like yourself? Reflect on your intimate, private and most honest of answers. Your shortcomings of the day have come and now they have gone. The love you put out into the world throughout the day can no longer be taken back, however, by the good graces of faith we are some of the most fortunate individuals in the world because tomorrow we have another chance to make that small significant difference through the ripple affect we leave behind us as life continues to move on. Find awareness hidden in the depths of your soul and pull it to the forefront. Ask yourself periodically the question of self worth and self acceptance and adjust your presence to reflect who you would want to be and strive everyday to be a better person who emanates love into the world and finds themselves surrounded by love returned.
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