When we look in the mirror, who do we see? Do we see someone who is taking responsibility for every aspect of their life? Or, do we see a person who is blaming everyone and everything for the way life is unfolding?

These are tough questions because it requires us to be honest with ourselves. It’s easy to avoid the responsibility we have for our own well-being. Why? Because not all of our choices worked out as we had planned. Some of these decisions may be too painful to admit, even to ourselves. Avoiding our responsibilities by blaming others, may make us feel better about ourselves. But that feeling won’t last long.

It seems the more we blame others, the easier it is to stay clear of being honest with who we see in the mirror. Yet how does that make us feel? Is this behavior self-loving? Of course not. To truly love ourselves we must accept full responsibility for our behavior, as well as our reactions to the challenges life hands us.

Some things in life are within our control, while many are not. Either way, how we handle these situations will determine the outcome of our life. This may sound overly dramatic, but think of the times we reacted in haste, only to regret it later. We could try to blame the circumstances but in truth, our reaction may have been the reason things fell apart.

There will be times when life is painful by no fault of our own. We may have been the victim of the rage and hidden wounds of others. This is where we have a choice, blame them, or choose to love ourselves and heal.

If we blame while waiting for an apology, we will never heal, in behaving this way we unconsciously accept the role of the victim. Yet if we are truthful with ourselves, we understand that our healing is our responsibility. Only then healing will begin.

Looking at ourselves in the mirror, we want to see someone who loves themselves enough to do everything possible to live their best life. We cannot wait for an apology or an olive branch before we decide to heal ourselves. To live to the fullness of who we are is to love ourselves so deeply we choose healing over the negative emotion of blame.

Can we look into our eyes knowing we have done everything possible to heal? Have we considered forgiveness? What about self-forgiveness? Forgiving others may be difficult, if so, we may want to consider forgiving ourselves.

Why forgive ourselves? We forgive ourselves because we may have chosen to carry the burden of blame, victimhood, even revenge in our consciousness. These negative emotions prevent us from being honest with ourselves, thereby limiting how much self-love we will experience. As long as we refuse to take responsibility for our healing, we are denying ourselves our very own self-love.

As the healing begins, our entire state of being will change. We will feel as if a weight has been lifted from our shoulders. Our eyes will be filled with light, our smile will express the love we have for ourselves. Looking in the mirror we hold our head high because we are truly honest with ourselves. Knowing we chose the self-loving path of being responsible for our own healing.

Healing is hard because we are asked to look within ourselves to find the reasons we would rather blame than heal. When we blame we create an identity that feeds on negativity. This type of energy may give us a false sense of superiority. Yet this feeling has no solid foundation. The slightest upset could cause our fragile sense of self-righteousness to come crashing to the ground.

Yet healing is a powerful act of self-love. We love ourselves enough to recognize the lessons in the painful experience then to courageously walk away, never revisiting the situation again. After healing begins we have no reason to blame, yet we have every reason to connect with our self-love through the healing process. This way when we look in the mirror we see a person who loves themselves enough that no matter what happens blame is never the option.

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Is choosing healing hard? Let me know what you think leave a comment below, I’m always interested in hearing your point of view.

I’ll be hosting a journaling workshop titled “Creating a Sacred Space” on August 24^th from 11:00am to 1:00pm at Strega, 157 Coronado Dr, in Sierra Vista AZ.

The intention of this workshop is to create a sacred space in your consciousness, to begin a conversation with your Higher Self.  The cost, $30.00

To reserve your spot call, 214-790-5427, or email, Flyingmonkeys@stregashop.com

Don’t forget to check out my latest book, “Abundance to Zen: Wisdom for a Fulfilling Life.

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Thank you for joining me on this journey through life, I appreciate your company.

Peace and well-being, Paul

Copyright Paul Hudon 2024