Meditation on Seeing Ourselves and Others as Masterpieces

For a long time I felt pretty dope in Warrior 2; like I was a hero from Lord of the Rings.  Then, one day at a studio with mirrors I saw myself in the pose, and my jaw dropped open in horror.  While I felt strong and electrified, that’s NOT how I appeared to myself with my caboose jutting out, among other things.  As you can imagine, my inner observations about myself weren’t kind or affirming.  I share this because I think how we view ourselves, and others, is super important.  We each are unique works of art made by a master Creator, masterpieces who are to be celebrated!

With this in mind, and remembering he’s talking about both yoga AND life, drink in these words from the famous yoga teacher and author BKS Iyengar: “Each movement must be an art.  It is an art in which the Self is the only spectator.  Keep your attention internal, not external, not worrying about what others see, but what the Self sees.”  In my Warrior 2, my True self “saw” clearly by feeling my strength and vibrancy, while the lies of culture told me to fixate on the junk in my trunk and other ways how I looked fell “short”.

I heard about a practice I think is super relevant here.  In other cultures, people sometimes go to a temple not to “sing and talk” to and about God, but to let the Divine “sing and talk” about them.  They go to be gazed upon by our Source and let our Creator affirm, encourage, and enliven them.  It occurs to me Spirit always sees us through beer goggles, naming us beautiful, courageous, kind, and loved exactly AS we are.  Whether you believe in God or not, I’m guessing you see how helpful and life-giving this practice is.  So, today I invite us to see ourselves, and others, as masterpieces, whose movements and doings are art of the finest quality.