Every one of us is here alone (but not necessarily lonely). We
live among other people and yet all the great challenges of life
we have to face alone. Our friends and people we keep close
can support and give us the courage we need in our journey.
Circumstances often take us on some rough rides but the
greatest lessons are given to us by other people. Our life is
about relationships with people. Some are strangers and just
visitors in our lives and some are here to stay longer with us.
Our life is about learning new sides to and issues about
ourselves. The things in our lives are purely about us. The
people we meet, the situations we face—they are not coinci-
dences or pure chance. They have a meaning for us and help
us to get to know ourselves better. Still, it is up to us to do the
work and learn the lessons. Often we are ignorant and seem
to repeat the same patterns. We realize this when similar
kinds of things happen to us. For example, we might get
involved with the same type of people all the time—and they
get us into trouble. Or we seem to struggle with our bosses in
each and every new job we have. These things will happen to
us until we acknowledge the pattern and learn from our
behavior and actions. Then we are up to new challenges.
Other people play an important role in our lives. They are
the mirrors for us. They interact with us and give us the test
bed for getting to know our different sides and even hidden
talents and emotions. People, through their behavior and
actions, show us who we really are—and it should not be any
big surprise that often we are the last people to see the reality.
Just check with your closest friends—they may describe your
other side if you only let them.
We get angry and frustrated with other people easily. They
are the ones to blame. Why are we agitated? Why should
their behavior concern us? Other people’s problems or bad
behavior are not our problem. So there is no reason to get
emotional. Unless there is something in us that knows that
they have revealed or awakened some hidden issues in us,
such as ego, selfishness, laziness, greed for power, hypocrisy,
and so on. Naturally we do not like to be reminded of those
darker sides of us. We cannot stand it, and we blame others.
As long as we have these issues with ourselves, we will need
other people because we are not voluntarily working with
ourselves.
Therefore, each human interaction and moment in our life
is a new opportunity for us: to learn more about ourselves and
become better human beings. Every person you meet is most
of all teaching you about yourself. You only have to be humble
and open-minded to realize the messages. Remember to
thank the people around you. You don’t have to say any-
thing—just smile and love your neighbor. He or she is your
greatest teacher.
This is the original text, and an edited version can be found in the Fragments of Reality -book.
