2022-10-27 I am not what happens

This one can be a hard one to wrap the head around. It’s up there with “my thoughts are not my own.”

However, upon further inspection, I see that whatever happens outside of me is merely a reflection of what’s going on inside of me.

If someone says something painful to me, for example, initially it looks like the source of pain comes from the person who’s saying something hurtful. But they can only touch something that’s unresolved inside because if someone says I’m ugly but I don’t believe it, I shrug them off. I might even laugh because it’s so silly. If, on the other hand, I do believe it, it can cripple me for days.

It all comes down to how I see myself in the end and then how people and events outside reflect that back.

If I’m defined by what happens to me, I’m at the mercy of the world and my happiness will always reside outside of myself. If I’m defined by something bigger, however, I connect to a deeper truth that underpins the eternal nature of life and my happiness resides within.