The world is a looking-glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it will look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly kind companion; and so let all young persons take their choice.
William Makepeace Thackeray
A process I have used for my own personal growth is to ask myself, “Am I like that?”
It is impossible to have personal growth without self-awareness. Many don’t care. They want to change the world but fail to understand that the world changes when they change.
If you want to see kindness, be kind.
If you want to be loved, love first.
If you want to see people laugh, start laughing.
Have you seen someone yelling and cursing as he walks down the street? If so, how does that make you feel? I have been in that situation. The yelling made me feel angry. I walked away. Perhaps I should have tried to help. I did not. Much later, the man walked up to me on the street. He had been off his meds. When he asked for help, I wanted to help. He was hoping that I was an attorney. I am not.
If you cannot help, at least don’t contribute to the problem. Am I like that?
Are you angry? Many people are looking for others to join them. They want to be angry together. They want to feel the hormones surging through their bodies. They don’t care if they are right. Is that the person you want to be? Is that the world you want to see?
One way the brain works is through pattern recognition. We find what we are looking for. An example is when I pick up dog poop in my yard. I have a pattern of what dog poop looks like. Poop looks a lot like the cones the trees are dropping in my yard. Sometimes I am momentarily deceived.
Similarly, when you look for liars and cheaters, you find what you are looking for. If someone makes something up that you agree with, you are ready to pass it on. You get a hormone rush. You feel great. Is that the society you want?
Can you see that the world is your looking glass? You see what you are looking for!
Does that mean there is no corruption? Is there no hate? Is it all in my mind? Why do I see a world that I don’t like?
Ask the question, Am I like that?
Is the world presenting you with a mirror to help you change?
The second question is even more profound, What if I’m wrong?
We watched an episode of the show Ballard last night. Ballard is a female detective who had been sexually assaulted by another officer. She was in a bar and saw a waitress being harassed by a man. She started to get up to intervene. Then the waitress bent over and kissed the man. Ballard realized that she was seeing what she was looking for. Fortunately, she realized that she was wrong - just in time.
What if I’m wrong? The question that hit me like a gut punch late one night was only slightly different, “What if everything I know is wrong?”
Imagine that! I had a B.A. in chemistry. I had an MBA. I had a Doctor of Chiropractic. That was a lot of education. What if everything I know is wrong? My life began to change. I had an experience of talking with my spirit guides through a medium. I met a woman who was capable of mental telepathy. I worked with energy healers. I participated in a sweat lodge. My personal growth was extraordinary.
Care more about truth than you do about being right. There is no harm in being wrong. Just change. People will respect you more if you can change your mind based on evidence.
Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.
Attributed to David Bowie
If you want to grow, if you want to be happy, if you want to change the world, ask yourself two questions.
Am I like that?
What if I’m wrong?
If you’re like me, you’ll find your world changes.