Your Brother as a Mirror

That's why the healers's prayer is: let me know this brother as I know myself.
A Course in Miracles

We all tend to differentiate people, family, friends, colleagues, strangers, insiders or outsiders, the same race or a different race, good people and bad people, the same religion or different religions. We will then treat people differently according to our belief set.  We prefer some who we label as insiders.  But do you know what? You can actually observe that by treating some people as outsiders you actually hurt not only them but yourself in the process. Every brother who comes your way is a mirror of your being and offers you a priceless opportunity to transcend your struggles. So please take a good look even if sometimes you don't like what you are seeing.

 Our differentiation and prioritization of people is a symbol of the split that exists inside ourselves. We want something from people, we are sometimes afraid and gravitate towards those that we think can give us security, while we shun those that supposedly stand in our way or who we perceive as unfriendly. In fact, everyone is here to help us to recognize the split inside ourselves and can help us overcome it.  We certainly have to accept who we are; we can't wish away our drives and worries. But we can let our mind be washed clean by the magic of the holy encounter. Every time someone enters our life, we have a golden opportunity to be healed by the moment. Every person who comes our way is meaningful in that regard. Embrace every meeting wholeheartedly even though some encounters are tougher to deal with than others. We have said that every brother is really a mirror of your being. So please look really closely and see how the frown that you perceived before is turning into a smile and how out of a sudden all you can perceive is beauty.  It is within you, let your brother show who you truly are.

 By Christian and Su Zhen