"The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances"
Those were the meditative words of wisdom my mobile app presented me with this morning for meditation (yes i have an app for that).
I started meditating on it - and after my meditation - I pull out my journal and I reflect on it and what it means. So after I have engaged my spirit (meditate) I engage my mind (journal) so that I can engage the body through daily action in line with my spirit.
While I was journaling an awareness hit me - I was looking externally to find what these words of wisdom mean - and equally hit by the irony that I had so blatantly missed the idea of journaling....
I was noting down things like -"it means seeing past the appearance of what people you deal with are trying to tell you, to what is underneath" - to this pretentious pearler "hearing the roar of the engine of motivation driving the words out" - all about my engagement with people.
The question that hit me was - what are my own appearances that I need to see through in myself? What are the beliefs and stories I have told myself to get by or to drive a particular action. The story of control or enlightenment or of what makes me happy. And the issue isn't that there is a story - there is always a story - it is whether or not it is conscious. If it is not conscious - I am not aware of the appearance - nor can I control the story.
There are many out there who believe that wearing a mask or putting on an appearance is not authentic - but I believe that portraying a conscious appearance in a given situation - is the key skill and tool in changing yourself. If you want to overcome a fear, or to stop acting on stimulus that leaves you feeling less-than, telling yourself a story and putting forward an appearance is a tool to use. We often let unconscious appearances and stories drive our lives - and then the story we tell ourselves is that this who we are. As the saying goes - it is easier to act yourself into a new way of thinking than it is to think yourself into a new way of acting.
The moral of the story is - know your story, pick your story carefully and purposefully and make sure your story tells who you really are - the best stories are always the true ones.
And then when you are dealing with people - listen for their story - its not always in the words....but remember that the purpose of this interpersonal skill is to listen so that you can ask questions that help you understand - and not so that you can answer unasked questions that prove you are clever (an appearance I know I put on).
The purpose of the story is to bring awareness and not to bring distance.
Image credit: EntericDesigns on Etsy
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