| Self-Image |
| The great mystery is not that we should have been thrown down here
at random between the profusion of matter and that of the stars; it is that from
our very prison we should draw, from our own selves, images powerful enough to deny
our nothingness. |
André Malraux
|
The way in which you see yourself and your relationship to the world around you is
the core of the image you convey to your fellow human beings, and lies at the center
of the interactions which take place between you and them. Before you can hope to
succeed in achieving harmony with the world, you must first confront the task of
understanding yourself. This is of course, an on-going process, one in which you
have been constantly involved throughout your life. During this period of your separation
from a loved one, however, it is absolutely essential that you concentrate on the
importance of self-knowledge. The primary energies necessary for your victory over
this present crisis can come only from you.
Maintain your self-respect and your sense of self-worth. Your positive qualities
and achievements in life to this point have not suddenly dropped out of existence.
The awareness you have of your own capacity for working through difficult situations
is a priceless treasure at this time. Use it to its fullest advantage. It is a power
which you have developed slowly and patiently through many seemingly insurmountable
dilemmas, and to lose sight of it now would be to set up a dangerous stumbling block
in your life. Know that you are strong enough to make it through this stressful time
without losing any of your self-esteem.
It is true that predicaments like the one you are now experiencing are a tremendous
drain on the personal resources needed in life to achieve and maintain well-being.
Your storehouse of potentials, however, is not a shallow pool. By taking inventory
of your strongest qualities and looking at them honestly, you will be able to use
what you see in your total self-image as the means by which to get back to the business
of your life, your future. At this moment you are actually in the middle of the process
of determining the outcome of the separation with which you are now confronted.
Work with the thoughts and beliefs that empower you. You are the only one who
can filter out the useless forces from your own conception of yourself, forces such
as guilt and self-blame. By concentrating on the best of the elements which make
up your total image of yourself, you will be able to come through this experience
complete and prepared for your own growth and development.
