The Smokey Mirror – A Story About Connectedness

I recently read the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, and it changed my perspective on life and the world at large. In the introduction of his book, he shares the story of a man who had a dream. The man dreamed that he saw his own body sleeping and heard his own voice say, “I am made of light; I am made of stars. Everything is made of light.”

He discovered that everything in existence is a manifestation of the one living being we call God. Everything is God. Once he knew what he really was, he looked around at other humans and the rest of nature, and he was amazed at what he saw. He saw himself in everything—in every human, in every animal, in every tree, in the water, in the rain, in the clouds, in the earth.

He also knew that the Dream (the world of illusion formed by our belief system), is just like smoke that doesn’t allow us to see what we really are. “The real us is pure love, pure light,” the man said.

This story helped me understand how we’re all connected. In the past, I had heard about the concept of connectedness and us all being one, but I didn’t really embrace it until now. After this realization, I started to see myself and others differently. I started to see love in every being. Don Miguel explains that we are images of light and that we are all mirrors. Therefore, the beauty we see in others is a pure reflection of who we are.

When we can’t see ourselves in others, it is because there is a wall of fog or smoke between the mirrors. And this smoke is made up of our own beliefs and self-imposed rules. We become judgmental when someone acts or behaves in a different way than we do, or when we fail to understand the beliefs of others. However, in order to open up our world, we need to regularly challenge our belief system.

I used to call people toxic, but that has also changed. If we call someone toxic, we should then recognize that there’s a certain toxicity in us too. Because at the end of the day, we’re all made of the same stuff. And while I know that we won’t always be a vibrational match for everybody, I believe we’re all doing the best we can.

A few years ago, I had a discussion with a friend. I told her that our friendship could no longer continue because I believed she was toxic. But in reality, she was actually a catalyst for good changes in my life. For instance, she encouraged me to start blogging. And it was because of her that I started writing this blog. She also insisted that I download the dating app where I met my partner and the love of my life. So now, instead of seeing our friendship as something that was toxic, I am grateful that our paths ended up crossing.

After all, the universe is always working in our favor. The people in our lives (“toxic” or not) are here for a higher purpose. They all help create our reality. Even when things look bad, everything happening around us is for our benefit.

Whenever someone has some sort of judgment about me, I do not take it personally anymore because I know it has nothing to do with me. It rather has everything to do with their reality and their perception of the world. Once I become aware of this, the smoke between us starts to vanish. Because even when people aren’t able to see themselves in me, I can still see myself in them. I remind myself about what we really are. I remember we are not only part of God; we are God (the universe/source energy or whatever you want to call it).

Wouldn’t this make this world a better place to live in if we all came to the conclusion that human perception is merely light perceiving light? We’d love more and judge less. We would smile at each other because we’d know we are the same, you and I.

I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing and illustrating it. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it. Also, what books have changed your perspective on life? Let me know in the comments! I’m always eager to hear recommendations.