My Crazy Hair First Thing In The Morning

The Man In The Mirror

I recently took the picture below after waking up one morning. I found my crazy hair funny and I knew my parents would laugh at it. I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror and it got me thinking…

My Crazy Hair First Thing In The Morning

My Crazy Hair First Thing In The Morning

It made me think of one’s relationship with one’s self. Too often it’s unhealthy – love/hate at best. As much as I talk about acceptance here, I guess I haven’t talked much about the ultimate test of acceptance: accepting yourself.

It’s not easy. Maybe you grew up being told you were never good enough. Maybe you embody some shame for one reason or another. Maybe you abhor something about yourself physically or mentally. Whatever the case may be it’s hard to take a walk down Happy Road if you aren’t happy with yourself – or at least accept yourself.

First thing’s first. We’re all flawed. No one is perfect. All too often we hold ourselves up to an unattainable standard. In some way’s that’s good. It motivates us to be the best we can be. But in other ways it’s counterproductive. It’s best to accept who you are, flaws and all, and strive toward self-improvement.

Next, you need to love yourself. It sounds strange, maybe even selfish or conceited, but you need to love yourself. Why is it that we can love others despite their flaws, but can’t do the same for ourselves?

One thing I used to do in Denmark before starting this trip was to look myself in the eye in the mirror. It wasn’t a daily appointment or anything, but maybe once a day after my shower or something. At first I felt uncomfortable looking at myself that way. After a while I had no problem. Accepting the physical you, though not necessarily easy due to body image issues, is still probably easier than accepting the internal flaws you have.

rumi wise clever change selfOn the very day I started the Happy Nomad Tour I posted this article. It features Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror.

Rumi’s quote to the left summarizes things quite nicely. If you’re here reading my blog then probably something inside you wants to make the world a better place. But if you truly want to make the world a better place, start looking within and make yourself better. Look at the man in the mirror and “Ask him to change his ways.”

I think this is a perfect allegory for how my trip has gone. In Latin America I volunteered a lot and tried to “change the world” with my hands. In Asia, thanks to a different philosophy about life, my week at the Buddhist temple, and an experience at an Indian ashram that will be shared in the future, I’ve been focusing much more on changing myself.

Be at peace within yourself. Lay a foundation you are comfortable standing on. Stop immersing yourself in the sea of distraction known as modern life (TV, internet, Facebook, Twitter, games, etc.) and start immersing yourself in.. yourself! The rest will follow. You may not change the world directly, but indirectly you’ll inspire those you know and the people you meet to go beyond what they think is possible.

“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.”

10 replies
  1. PasserBy
    PasserBy says:

    ‘Stop immersing yourself in the sea of distraction known as modern life (TV, internet, Facebook, Twitter, games, etc.)’

    There’s so much truth in that, it’s difficult to grasp the gravity of that statement, in how is wasted from being glued to them.

    I recall Bag packing in Japan a while back, traveling around a couple of cities, with most of my time spent walking, talking and watching, One of The greatest freedoms I felt, even at times while still, on my trip not doing much, was simply not having the constant flood of trivia on my senses from electronic media.

    When I got back, for about a week, I decided to cut out a chunk of media time and dedicate it to reading. Few months since then, and I’ve found books are taking up more chunks of my previous media time, notably literary essays (Finally figured out why Gorge Orwell is so hyped!)

    The advantage of what ‘Ive gained from books versus what I would’ve gained from – more often than not – trivial regurgitations from TV, FB, youtube e.t.c. is amazing. Even simply having a calmer more collected mind.

    Reply
    • Adam Pervez
      Adam Pervez says:

      Great story! It’s amazing what happens when you pull yourself away from the magnetic pull of those distractions, isn’t it? You start to feel alive again! We both left out spending time in nature, though I’d say that’s important too. Thanks for leaving us your great thoughts!

      Reply
      • PasserBy
        PasserBy says:

        Definitely, the remarkable thing is how little thought I gave to it initially, we essentially devote hours a day, to learning things on twitter/tv/fb et all, with a relevance only as long as the screen is opened! pretty crazy.

        That’s the word ‘Alive’ – Relaxed – Content. Your right spending time in Nature is key, the weather over here isn’t too good at present, but I must make sure as spring and summer comes, to consciously plan to spend more time outside.

        Reply
          • PasserBy
            PasserBy says:

            I really hope so too . ]

            Whereabouts in India are you currently and whats the temperature. Is it true the desert’s temperature changes drastically in the day in contrast with the night.

          • Adam Pervez
            Adam Pervez says:

            I’m in Jaisalmer, about 100km from the Pakistani border. During the day it’s about 36-38C right now. At night it’s about 20C. Sounds fine, but in the desert 20C feels quite cold. Temperature is all relative. 20C when I lived in Denmark was HOT. 20C in the Andes or here, freezing cold. 🙂

          • PasserBy
            PasserBy says:

            Yea 20C in the night dosen’t sound half bad! especially in Western Europe where we’re so poverty stricken when it comes to the weather.
            Does it feel cold in the desert because of the clothes you’re wearing, or wind speeds?

          • Adam Pervez
            Adam Pervez says:

            I’m really not sure. It’s a very dry cold so maybe humidity has something to do with it. Wind doesn’t help, but I really don’t know why this is so.

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.