Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.Ralph Waldo Emerson
Have you ever been around someone who made you feel really good about yourself? Not through words of simple flattery, but through a genuine quality of their presence that just seemed to magnify the good and beautiful aspects of You?
It's truly inspiring to be in the presence of someone like that. Someone who shines a bright, loving light on your potential, and reflects a glimpse of who you are underneath all the filters of fear and yuck that we tend to see ourselves through.
Now... what if you could be that mirror for others?
Seeing the best in others, reflecting their awesome back to them. Nurturing their brilliance, their gifts and their dreams. Inspiring them to see beyond the yuck, and shift their focus toward owning their beauty and their magnificence. How would that change not only their world, but yours?
Here are a few ways in which you can cultivate a habit of holding up the Mirror of Awesome:
See the Sacred. I wrote about seeing the sacred in one another last week, and it is an essential aspect of holding up the Mirror of Awesome. When you choose to perceive someone as an event — a sacred phenomenon — your whole perception of them transforms. Seeing the sacred in others transcends all surface judgments and acknowledges the brilliant, magnificent Being that they truly are. And what a beautiful gift, to reflect someone's sacredness back to them. To show them a reflection of themselves that they've possibly never seen before.
Be a Wellspring of Encouragement. Being generous with words and acts of encouragement makes others feel seen and validated, and can uplift them to a higher state of awareness. Let it come from an honest place — shallow encouragement doesn't reach deep into the heart of a person, but sincere, meaningful encouragement is like water to the soul.
Be an Ambassador of Grace. This is simply showing unconditional loving-kindness, even when it doesn't feel easy to do so. It's about having an attitude of kindness that transcends the tone of a situation. Grace opens the heart. It shows others that you see their potential, not their faults, and this is healing and inspiring.
As we choose to be mirrors of the highest potential in others, we create a space for healing and transformation — not only in them, but in ourselves. Imagine how the world might change as we begin to see each other in this way.