We all carry this idea of ourselves in our heads It’s a picture built from a lifetime of glances in the mirror from our own, and from the stories we tell ourselves about who we are We think we know that person pretty well. But sometimes you get a glimpse of yourself through a completely different lens and it stops you in your tracks.
I was just scrolling along you know minding my own business when I came across a piece of writing It was a simple reflection, but it felt like the author was holding up a mirror to a part of me I rarely let see the light. They weren't writing about me not at all but they were writing about a feeling, a feeling I knew intimately but had never quite found the words for as It was that strange and beautiful moment of seeing a piece of your own soul reflected back at you in someone else's story.
It got me thinking about how we see ourselves my own internal narrative can be so harsh, so focused on the things I haven’t done or the ways I don’t measure up that critical voice is loud and it often feels like the only one in the room. But reading that post was like hearing a whisper from another room entirely It was a gentler perspective one that wasn't judging or measuring but just… observing. It was a reminder that the story we tell ourselves is just one version of events there are other angles other ways of seeing the same person. It made me wonder what I would see if I could step outside of my own head for a day, If I could watch my own life like a movie, would I be so critical of the main character Or would I see the small acts of kindness the quiet resilience the tiny victories that my own inner critic loves to edit out.
That’s the power of sharing our stories, I think. It’s not about giving advice or having all the answers. It’s about offering that different lens to someone else. It’s about saying, hey, I see this thing in me, and maybe you see it in you too. And in that shared recognition, we both feel a little less alone in our own skin. So I’m trying to borrow that gentler lens for a while I’m trying to look at myself with a bit more of that curious kind observation. It’s not always easy to quiet the familiar critic but moments like that, moments of unexpected reflection, are a good place to start It’s a gift to be reminded that we are so much more than the story we tell ourselves on our worst days sometimes we just need to see ourselves through a different light.
Image created by META AI