Do You See in Yourself What You See in Others?

Maybe you should. Think about the people in your life whom you admire. Consider why you admire them. What qualities or characteristics do they possess that you find attractive, desirable and admirable?

Go ahead and think about it for a minute – even go so far as to list out a few of those sterling qualities. Do you find that many of them share the same or similar qualities? Do you suppose that’s just some sort of freaky accident?

Let’s take it a step further – and say there really isn’t anyone in your life for who you feel any deep admireation – is there a celebrity or public figure whom you admire? What is it about them that inspire admiration in you? Really think about it for a minute, you may be amazed by what you discover.

The old adage says, ‘opposites attract’ the theory seeming to be tht we are attracted to things in other people that we lack and do not possess. I wonder, is that really the case? If so, is that attraction or are we just coveting something we wish we had?

Personally, I believe that no matter what the surface signals seem to tell you, that you would, if you were to probe further, discover that beneath those ‘differences’ lie many shared qualities. Maybe you are warm and fuzzy and your mate is cooly logical or detached – but when you look further you find you are both deep thinkers. How you arrive at those thoughts may be more a matter of choice of approach than in any real difference. Or they are the life of the party while you are shy – yet people respond to both of you because of a special spark that you both have. See where I am going here?

I’ve come to realize that all of the people I like and admire do in fact, have a lot of qualities that I possess. They may not manifest in the same way, they may have different approaches but still, they are when you boil it down to the essence similar.

The point of this meandering is not to say that we are egotistical at heart and only seek to find likenesess in others but more that we admire people and think, ‘wow, if only I were like that,’ without ever seeing, that in fact, we are like that. That we have as many admirable qualities as anyone whom we admire. That we have talents and fine characteristics that others find admirable too. That when we look at others, perhaps we are looking at our own reflection and that that is really okay.

What do you think?

WC