A Personal Reflection
Some days, the phrase “everything happens for you, not to you” just grates. DO you find yourself questioning—is this for real? Is she kidding? Really, who has time for this kind of spiritual optimism when life feels so heavy? I get it. I want things to be easier too. Most of us do. Yet, as the world grows less predictable, I keep coming back to one simple truth: if I can’t smooth the outer chaos, maybe the best I can do is choose how I respond on the inside.
This world feels, at times, overwhelming. The news. Our personal struggles. Even the small everyday annoyances—a slow car in front of me, a friend whose parenting style irks me, witnessing violence, or watching love bloom around others when I feel alone. It doesn’t matter my beliefs or background; sometimes, I’m just muttering under my breath: “Can you believe this? Enough already!”
But what if the outside world is a mirror, reflecting our inner world back to us? What if those mutterings are clues to places inside that want our attention, our healing, or our compassion?
- That slow car might be teaching me about impatience in other areas of my life.
- My reaction to violence could reflect a need for gentler self-talk and kindness toward myself.
- Criticizing another’s parenting might reveal where my own inner child isn’t being honored.
- Jealousy about love all around could be a cue that I’m neglecting my own ways of expressing or receiving love.
This mirror metaphor isn’t just poetic—it has deep roots in spiritual traditions and philosophies across cultures. Mirrors don’t just show our outward appearance; they reveal who we are on a deeper level. Life, too, reflects the stories, wounds, and yearnings within us.
I’m learning, slowly, that each reaction is a crossroads. Ego wants proof, control, and comfort. Heart asks for truth and compassion, for me and for others. If I can pause, notice the mirror, and choose with my inner knowing, life doesn’t get easier—but it becomes richer, more beautiful, and more real.
- So, when the world feels like too much, I remind myself:
- What am I seeing in the mirror today?
- What is life showing me about myself?
- Can I soften, choose my reaction from the heart, and gently change the story I’m living?
Maybe, bit by bit, this is how life starts to happen for me, and not just to me.
If this post resonates, take a moment this week to notice your own mirrors—they might surprise you with the wisdom they reflect.