If you’ve ever been in a car or on a
bike, owned one, rented one, seen one and most importantly noticed one, you
know where to find those words! On the rear-view mirror or side-view mirror of
course!! It’s that mirror, which helps you gauge which direction it’s ok to
move towards, which one is safe and which isn’t, whether you’d hurt someone or
yourself if you moved that way. It’s like a guide, like a navigator who has
your best interest in mind, provided you look at it and acknowledge its
presence.
No, this isn’t a note on how to use
the mirror for safer driving! It is more of a note to self. To look at the
“object in the mirror” that is “closer” than it “appears”. It’s about
acknowledging and embracing the person you see in the mirror every single day,
at least a couple of times, if not more! How many times have we stopped to look
ourselves in the eye? Sounds dramatic, I know, perhaps clichéd even, but it is
powerful. I remember looking at myself in the mirror when I’d lock myself in
the bathroom to cry about anything from a broken nail to a broken heart, from a
bad hair day to a bad day and I’d stare straight into my eyes. It was almost
instantly calming and comforting. Like I was talking to myself, and so I
decided that I’d look myself in the eye in happier and normal times too. It is
an empowering and fabulous feeling when you acknowledge yourself. Instead of
awaiting validation and acceptance from external sources, giving myself all
that and more was liberating.
Truth is, we don’t acknowledge or
reach out to that guide, that navigator, supporter and nurturer we all carry within
us. If only we all tapped into that enormous pool of love, support and strength
within, we would realize how powerful we really are. If you’ve ever been asked
the question, “do you love yourself?” you would have perhaps wondered what
exactly loving yourself means. I have heard people say “yea, maybe” “umm..i
don’t really hate myself, so I guess yea I love myself” and the confident “yes
I do.” The first time I was asked this question, I wasn’t sure what the honest
answer to that was. I wondered what it meant and how I’d answer it in the most
sincere way! It’s easier (I don’t mean easy or doable, just comparatively) to
say I love another person, a place, a thing or anything else. But one self, how
do you gauge that. To know that there is a “you” within you, could be a start
and slowly but surely, you are all you’ll need – for love, for guidance, for
company, strength and support. Everyone and everything else will be a bonus! Oh
how beautiful life is!!
It’s all about perspective! Go on! Look
in the mirror! What you see IS indeed closer than it appears!
