FACE OFF

At three o'clock in the morning most of us are alone with ourselves. The self we see is not the person everyone else sees, but the person we actually are. No doubt there are actually some people who actually are the same person that others see, but I suspect, that the person we actually are probably is a bit different than the one which other people see. 

Most nights we are sleeping and enjoying a much needed and possibly also a well deserved rest. Other times however, we are still awake and somehow able in this time of quiet to be alone with -face to face- with ourselves. 

Being alone is something each of us needs to get used to and become comfortable with. In the course of our lives there will be many times when we will be alone.

I think such times in life can provide us with a perfect time to relax. We have a great opportunity to to consider how we are and actually use some of this 'downtime' as a sort of personal 'stocktaking'.  

It might also be a good time to use the quiet. We can use such times to reflect upon who we really are. How far we feel we have come and where we are going. 

We might also think about what we really want to be doing. Are we seeing a happy, contented person in front of us, or someone who is having a hard time looking forward.

At three o'clock in the morning, these and many other questions seem to be immediately in front of us, free of the busyness and distractions that push them aside or out of mind as we move, often rapidly, throughout our normal busy days. 

By now, most of us have learned, and probably accepted, that there are things and people we cannot change. In view of this, most of us eventually realize that the one person we can change and work with is ourselves.

I suggest that, in fact, the closer we are able to come to self acceptance and trust in ourselves that we have and are making a life where what we need and want are close together, the more likely we can be happy with ourselves and our lives. 

Meanwhile most of us will probably wonder if life will always be a work in progress and accept that this is probably not a bad thing.

Possibly though a successful life may just be the one where that person reflected back at us as we look in the mirror at three a.m. is the one with can comfortably live with throughout the day.