When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others too. -- Anne Morrow Lindberg
I wonder if being a "stranger to oneself" isn't simply not accepting our self. Until we accept our self, warts, of course, but our goodness, too, we don't really accept others.
As to others, we are situational, so to speak. We have good, and a few "best," friends, but they can fall by the wayside in a heartbeat through our nonacceptance of a word spoken thoughtlessly, a perceived slight, a misunderstanding...minor or major, makes no nevermind.
Then there are the irritators...those we find wanting, usually in the belief that they have somehow slighted us...for sure and for whatever reason, they pain our delicate sensibilities.
Ah, and here comes spiritual principles to save our self. We learn the irritators and the offending friends are our angels in disguise. It is they who lead us ever deeper within until we recognize that part of our self that we have not accepted...and it's the offender with our name on it every time.
As Eknath Easwaran in "Words to Live By" (May 1) puts it: To heal our relationships, we have to move closer to people we do not like, learn to work with them without friction
Then, of course, the quiet word: We have ceased fighting anything and anybody. The way we cease fighting is we learn to work with others without friction...give over, give up, give in. Why not? God's got our back. Our battles have already been won.
Thank you.
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