Too many people undervalue what they are, and overvalue what they are not.

– Malcolm S. Forbes

Recently, I have been challenged by God to see people as God sees them. That is, to see them as human beings, worthy of love and respect, just as they are, rather than as I would wish them to be. What I didn't understand at first was that I am included in “people.”  It is so much harder for me to love myself as I am, even knowing that my Higher Power loves me, just as I am. Why is it so much easier to apply that vision to others? I think it is, at least in part, because I am comparing my “insides” to their “outsides.” It is so easy for me to see how I fall short of my aspirations, of the ways in which I think I should act. Even when I am acting in accordance with my principles, I do not adhere to them perfectly, and so I put myself down. I can also look at the ways in which others do some thing better than I do, and feel inferior, while overlooking the ways in which I do well, perhaps better than them. When this happens, I can turn to the love of my Higher Power to remind me to be gentle with myself, and to let me know that I am valued as I am today, in this moment.

A meditation for March 25, 2013.