See Me!
When You are Invisible to Yourself
There is a commercial that comes on television by Cosentyx showing actual patients who have psoriasis. Each patient says in the camera, “See Me.” It depicts the emotional pain that each one felt minimized to their disease. They don’t feel seen by others. They think that all others see their condition, but they want us to get beyond the illness and see them. Although, Cosentyx profess to be the remedy for those who have psoriasis to be seen. It is a good lesson that if we can’t see people, we have a problem. It requires us to get beyond our limited mindset to see others. It will take being intentional about getting over the hang-ups we have, but it is worth it. It is a touching commercial that I found thought-provoking. I often think about the flip side of “See Me.”
The flip side of “See Me” is when you are invisible to yourself. You can’t see you. What is so ironic about the flip side is that others can, but you live in a distorted world about who you are. You can’t see your gifts, talents, and abilities, or beauty. Your mindset toward yourself limits your world. It is true that the limited views probably came from family, environment, and even you. It is not uncommon to buy into lies and believe me, our minds, people, and environment can shape us to have twisted views about ourselves. We get trapped in the vicious cycle of shame, guilt (false), distorted self-esteem, and a poor self-image.
I have seen this in young girls, women and let the record show that I speak from experience. I lived a life of taking myself too seriously, personalizing things people would say because I wanted to be seen in a good light. However, when I would defend myself, people didn’t experience me in a good light. I was viewed as confrontational and aggressive. I would also compare myself to others who I thought had it all together. I would look at the negative things about me and compare them to the positives in others. Instead of seeing my positives and their positives as gifts, talents, and abilities, we both possessed. I saw it as a strike against me. It only made me feel bad about myself.
The thoughts become a part of the psyche, and it plays the painful record over and over. So, when do you become enough? You become enough when you take steps to see yourself. It is a journey, and my journey started with God. The more I saw God, the more I saw me. Psalm 139:3–4
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
I believed God’s Word about me. God created me with a purpose and equipped me with gifts, talents, and abilities. What I possess is God-given, not made driven. To see ourselves, we have to disconnect from the past and move into our future and purpose. It is a journey but a worthy journey of new insights, growth, and possibilities. “See Me”