“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” — Matthew
How much of what you complain about in another person is actually a projection of what you yourself do? When someone really gets your goat and you have a lot of judgment about what they are doing, it may be time to stop and ask yourself “How is this person’s behavior a reflection of my own?” We often project onto another our own suppressed or unconscious feelings and beliefs. Thus if we tend towards arrogance, but don’t want to admit it, we may find ourselves immensely irritated by the arrogant people in our lives.
Spiritual maturity seeks to understand what is triggered within you that produce the feelings of blame, shame, anger, or withdrawal. You begin to see that this person is simply mirroring yourself back to you. Seeing yourself clearly allows you to admit and own a way of believing or behaving, which then allows you to change it. In turn, this allows you to see the other person more clearly, and with more loving eyes.
Contemplate: Find someone in your life that is really irritating you, then ask yourself “when have I acted in this same manner?” You may be projecting your own stuff onto that other person.
Affirmation: I look clearly at myself an others, with loving eyes and an open heart.