Peeling Off the Skin

Created: 02/07/2006 02:46:40 AM

Several perspectives have gone through my head today. It seems all of the contemplating I've done over the past month has come to culmination. Today, I am again surprised by how my over-analysis seems to always lead me back to a simple truth I have already known.

Interestingly enough, this process seems absolutely necessary for me to achieve a complete outlook on my current situation. Often times, I find that a seemingly external conflict is purely an internal one. I lose sight of myself amongst all the other faces. I realized today how much I have been projecting my own image onto others lately. I have projected myself so much, that the people I once saw clearly are now unrecognizable to me. It's as if I were to stretch my own skin over someone, only to watch in horror as they perform their own typical actions in their own typical state of mind. They become strange entities; distorted and frightening reflections of myself.

Today, I have attempted to peel myself from everyone around me. And in this process, I have once again realized that this was my own conflict all along. I was feeling victimized by people who do not share my outlook, people who do not share my vision. And due to my own compassionate nature, I draw myself closer to them by painting them with all of the qualities I think they should posess.

This is only illusion...indulgence. The more honorable task is to perceive others clearly, and accept the responsibility to stand and face the fire when the fire burns out of control.