reflections – A Dose of Inspiration

Recently I heard Christian people on the radio talking about the Ten Commandments in Biblical Scripture. I’m not a Christian woman but find their conversation deeply inspiring. The men were saying the language (I forget which one but for this post it’s not very important anyway. I think it may be Hebrew?) directly translates into English as “Do not steal” but often we hear\read “thou shalt not steal.” The men said this second phrase “thou shalt not steal” is much more powerful than “do not steal” and before they started explaining I was a bit confused. At first glance, at least to me, a command such as “Do not steal” seems more direct and assertive, even threatening, than “you should not steal.” Telling me not to do something can be an implicit threat or warning “Do not…or else..” where telling me I shouldn’t do something seems a bit more passive or laid back. It doesn’t seem like a command or demand. It’s more like just someone’s little opinion.

I’m not a big fan of telling others or myself what we should or should not do. I think “should” can be too limiting and contribute to feelings of failing or too much pressure. But soon I realized what these Christian men were talking about and it’s very powerful and can apply to us all, not just Christian and other religious people.

“Should” or “should not” is more like an internal thing while someone else’s commands, laws, rules, threats, abuse, opinion…..are external and cannot affect us if we do not let them. “Do not….because I said so” is authoritarian and someone else’s rule slapped onto us. It may or may not be a good rule but it’s external and we can rise above whereas “should” is something moral, internal. Of course someone else’s opinion of “should” is external and “should” is subjective but it’s more of an internal truth.

There are some things, in my opinion, we really should not do, like kill innocent beings, steal, spread vicious gossip, sexually assault….to name a few. That’s my truth and it’s more powerful than someone else telling me not to. It’s illegal for me to kill an innocent human but it runs deeper than the law telling me not to; I truly believe I should not kill an innocent person (or any innocent sentient being) and if I ever did I would have a bigger problem than being in legal trouble. I would have an internal struggle knowing I did something very wrong that resulted in the pain or ending of someone else. It’s not illegal to kill most insects at least where I live, and I don’t negatively judge those who do, but I do not kill them on purpose and when I do accidentally, I have a struggle within. And there are occasions people said things to me meant to have an effect I did not allow it to have. There are occasions I experienced domestic violence and was physically forced to do or not do something that wasn’t my choice but I did not let it destroy me and know it’s not a reflection of who I am and that this life is still beautiful with so many beautiful things and I kept my mind calm even though externally it was chaos. When I am abused the abuser is degrading itself, not me. Murderers, sexual predators, bullies, those engaging in vicious gossip only degrade themselves not those they hurt or try to hurt. We may be hurt, broken, devastated, traumatized, petrified, bleeding, bruised…..but we are not as destroyed as those who tried to destroy us. And we can stand up & rise again.

(not my photo)

Abuse of any kind, vicious lies being told about us, others trying to control us, societal expectations…..these are all external and can affect us greatly if we allow it. But with work, practice, meditation, self exploration, self love, other positive things….we can rise above and others cannot touch us. Even if they do physically, it will not drag and keep us down or touch our essence. What matters is what we know, our own truth, knowing, attitude.

It’s what’s inside that is more powerful than the outside.

Much love & light to you always! Thank you to everyone who reads my content & those who comment! When I see a comment I always or almost always respond usually with a comment back or a “like” and if I seem to ignore it it’s very likely I did not see it. I appreciate every comment & everyone who reads! I have a whole lot of catching up to do! I got a new job recently and worked nineteen days in a row! But I love it! ❤😍😀

~Hugs~

xoxo Kim

(meee at work last night <3)

“The sun shines down, and its image reflects in a thousand different pots filled with water. The reflections are many, but they are each reflecting the same sun. Similarly, when we come to know who we truly are, we will see ourselves in all people.” ~Ammachi

❤ 😀

After putting this heartwarming quote here with this mirrored effect on a photo of me, I started to truly wonder how mirrors and reflections work. I looked it up and can only mostly find info on how mirrors themselves work. But I’m sure it’s not all about the mirror, our eyes and the way they operate must play a part as well. The cones, rods, retinas, the lens in them, the pupil… I want to know how it all works together but it’s hard to find much information on it.
I was wracking my brain trying to understand then my brain started philosophizing and my intention to post a sweet, simple universal love post got diverted.

Here are some fun facts about mirrors:

” Basically, anything with a smooth surface that reflects almost all of the light that hits it — with only very little light absorbed or scattered — can be a mirror. The key factor is a smooth surface, because rough surfaces scatter light instead of reflecting it.

When photons — rays of light — coming from an object (your smiling face, for example) strike the smooth surface of a mirror, they bounce back at the same angle. Your eyes see these reflected photons as a mirror image. The mirror image is reversed, which you can easily see if you stand in front of a mirror with a shirt with words on it. The words on the shirt appear backwards in the mirror.

Of course, not all smooth surfaces act as mirrors. If a smooth surface absorbs the photons, they can’t bounce back and there will be no reflection.

Although calm, dark water has been used as a mirror since the beginning of time, people started making mirrors thousands of years ago. The first mirrors were likely polished stones, such as obsidian (a type of volcanic glass). Large pieces of polished metal, such as brass, were also used as mirrors, although these were very expensive.”

source:
http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-do-mirrors-work/

Also there’s a rare condition or phenomenon called Mirrored self-misidentification that can result as a symptom of dementia but also can show up in young people without dementia for whatever reason, I don’t know.

A person afflicted with this cannot recognize her/his own self in a mirror. The person thinks the reflection isn’t a reflection at all but a whole other person.

And because our brains are designed to make sense of things, the person makes up a story for who the person in the mirror is.

I read about a man who came down with this condition (maybe after an injury?) and when he looked into a mirror, he did not know it was a mirror and thought it was a window into an apartment next door and that his reflection was his neighbor and they became good friends.

It must be heartbreaking to realize the truth. It’s like losing a friend. Delusions and hallucinations can be so real.

This is not a hallucination and the people with it are healthy in every other way. They can function like anyone else, go to work, hold intelligent conversations, it’s just something wrong in that part of the brain. They can identify the reflections of other people, just not their own.

So here is a sweet reminder to look for ourself in each other and look for others in ourself. Oneness.

And some interesting facts.

I love reflections & shadows. They are some of my favorite things to take pictures of. ❤

😀

Much love & light,

xoxo Kim

Tag Archive | reflections

Thou shalt not steal

(not my photo)

It’s what’s inside that is more powerful than the outside.

~Hugs~

xoxo Kim

A thousand reflections