What Is The Self?

We are a product of the worlds we inhabit. As we respond to the events of our life, we are shaped, altered, and moved in different directions. Similarly, how we act shapes the world around us. A kind word, or insult will change another’s day. This symbiotic relationship is worth contemplating. How are we acting? How are the world’s actions impacting us? What can I do about it? The world is, in a way, our reflection.

Transcript

Reflections by Zachary Phillips Your hope will express itself in the poetry you read as to your ills.

The mirror rejects what you are not.

Thus,

The world will always be you.

The world will always be you.

In this way,

You are trapped.

Rejecting love when you need it most,

And the advice you most need to hear.

Yet you are not stagnant,

And neither is the mood of the world.

What happens in one distorts the other.

Words can scratch,

And actions can crack.

So keep a watch on its surface,

And a polishing rag in hand.

Realise that the mirror is in fact imperfect,

Subject to change,

Manipulation,

And control.

Those reflections are more than phantasms.

They have a force that can break.

So watch the mirror.

Be on guard against its influence.

But also influence your guard,

For your actions mean inadvertently shatter someone's soul.

When you smile,

The world smiles back.

When you fight,

The world fights back.

Your mood is reflected on the faces of strangers.

You can test this for yourself.

The next time you're out and about,

The next time you're speaking to someone,

The next time you're interacting,

Try this.

Try being just 10% happier.

Make your smile a touch wider.

Make your eyes a touch softer.

Be a little bit more open,

And just see how the world responds.

And then if you want,

Try to be a little bit closed off,

A little bit gruffer,

A little bit more curt,

Sharper with your tone,

And see what you get back.

What you quickly discover is that what you push out,

You return.

Now this isn't some spiritual,

Karma-based thing.

It's basic human nature.

If we see someone happy and bubbly,

We want to get on board and embrace that mood.

This is why young kids can be so intoxicating to play with,

And why having a child can be so much fun.

When your kids are young,

They are full of energy,

Bubbly,

Enthusiastic,

And joyful,

And they pull you in.

They suck you in based on their mood.

They just want to experience life,

And make you just want to experience life.

Their mood becomes your mood.

So in this poem,

I wanted to highlight the idea that the world is a mirror.

That it will show you what you are putting out there.

So if you're seeing that you're getting a lot of negativity back,

If you're seeing that you're getting a lot of happiness back,

There might be some part of that projection that's you.

Now this isn't by any means saying that your mood causes,

Or completely takes on the mood of others.

That's outlandish,

And ridiculous.

What I am saying is that your mood has the ability to sway.

It has the ability to nudge,

To tweak the world by 5-10%.

If you go through a supermarket and have a genuine smile,

And genuinely talk to the person serving you,

Their day will light up.

And similarly,

If you just ignore the person,

They will ignore you,

And it will become a robotic transaction.

So realize that what you put out,

You're going to get back,

In some part at least.

And therefore,

You should be putting out positivity.

You should be putting out joy.

You should be putting out love.

Because that's what you want back.

Put out the energy that you want to receive.

And you will get some of it back.

You won't change people completely,

But it will push a little bit in the right direction.

The world is a mirror to your soul.

Your happiness will be shown on the faces of strangers.

Your happiness will be shown on the faces of strangers.

Your fear will flicker in their eyes.

Your hope will express itself in the poetry you read,

As to your ills.

The mirror rejects what you are not.

Thus,

The world will always be you.

In this way,

You are trapped.

Rejecting love when you need it most,

And the advice you most need to hear.

Yet you are not stagnant,

And neither is the mood of the world.

What happens in one distorts the other.

Words can scratch,

And actions can crack.

So keep a watch on its surface,

And a polishing rag in hand.

Realise that the mirror is in fact imperfect,

Subject to change,

Manipulation,

And control.

Realise that the mirror is in fact imperfect,

Subject to change,

Manipulation,

And control.

Those reflections are more than phantasms.

They have a force that can break.

So watch the mirror.

Watch the mirror and be on guard against its influence.

But also influence your guard,

For your actions may inadvertently shatter someone's soul.

Now there's another side to this that's important to consider.

There is this sort of phenomena of indoctrination.

This echo chamber of thoughts,

And ideas,

And concepts,

And moods.

We all have this tendency to surround ourselves with people that are like us.

With people who think like us,

That act like us.

That have the same political views,

Religions,

That kind of stuff.

There's a bit of a trap here,

Because if everyone around you is very similar to you,

You may not have the skills to get yourself out of a perilous situation.

An emotional issue,

A relationship issue,

A work issue,

Or a life issue.

There is a risk that you may fall into a self-confirming bias.

That you will suggest something,

And that people around you will agree with what you are saying.

Because fundamentally,

They believe what you are saying.

This isn't just surface level stuff either.

This is a deep personal construct level.

This is your very fundamental nature of how you view reality.

What is moral?

What is right?

What is fair?

You will find that if you look deeply,

You will have attracted people with similar views on reality as you do.

And that's great,

But you need to take a small step to be aware that you are an echo chamber of thoughts.

But that's okay,

Because you're taking steps right now to remedy that.

You're meditating.

You're looking deeply.

You're educating yourself.

You're expanding your horizons.

And if you continue to take those steps,

You could then show the people around you greater truths,

And hope that they in turn will show you greater truths.

Because it's important to be aware that you are not stagnant,

And the world is not stagnant.

That events and reality change and push and pull.

This is what I mean when I say that words can scratch and actions can crack.

So be aware.

Be aware that what you say and do will change and impact the world.

And that what the world says and does will change and impact you.

Because the world's reflections are more than phantasms.

Your actions can hurt others,

And others actions can hurt you.

Just as your actions can help and heal others,

And others actions can help and heal you.

So be aware.

Watch the mirror.

Be on guard against it.

But also guard what you do,

Because your actions may inadvertently shatter someone's soul.

I want to project the importance of realizing just how much impact someone can have on another's life.

There's a saying that goes something along the lines of,

The axe forgets what the tree remembers.

The idea being that if you go around being self-centered,

Abusive,

Neglectful,

Any of those sort of things,

Go with the axe chopping down trees.

You might forget those casual words.

You might forget those casual actions that were quote unquote,

Nothing to you.

But to the tree that gets chopped down,

To the person who's on the receiving end,

Those words,

Those actions may be significantly impactful.

It might take them a long time to move on,

To forget,

To forgive.

Because you know,

A chopped down tree may never recover.

It of course can,

And humans are far more resilient and versatile than trees.

So these people may bounce back,

But they may not.

So it's important to realize that our actions can have long lasting ramifications.

But this also works in the positive sense as well.

If daily you're on search for small opportunities for a random kind word here,

And a random kind deed there,

True sincere compliments,

That kind of thing,

They too won't easily be forgotten.

They too will be a memory that sticks,

A memory that lasts.

Reflections.

The world is a mirror to your soul.

Your happiness will be shown on the faces of strangers.

Your fear will flicker in their eyes.

Your hope will express itself.

In the poetry you read,

As too will your ills.

The mirror rejects what you are not.

Thus the world will always be you.

The world will always be you.

In this way you are trapped.

Rejecting love when you need it most,

And the advice you most need to hear.

Yet you are not stagnant,

And neither is the mood of the world.

What happens in one distorts the other.

Words can scratch,

And actions can crack.

So keep watch on its surface,

And a polishing rag in hand.

Realize that the mirror is in fact imperfect,

Subject to change,

Manipulation,

And control.

That those reflections are more than phantasms,

That they have a force that can break.

So watch the mirror,

Be on guard against its influence,

But also influence your guard,

For your actions may inadvertently shatter someone's soul.

Reviews

So Thought provoking. Thanks for posting. these are a highlight for me.

Wonderful. Thank you very much!