"Flesh goes on pleasuring us, and humiliating us, right to the end."--Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966Self-image is how you see yourself in relation to others. This is usually how you see yourself physically. It affects the way you interact with others, your confidence and your social habits.
Self-image is a complicated thing; it is shaped by unique thoughts, beliefs and experiences of each individual. And it is always biased.
When I look at this photo of myself, I see something different from anybody else looking at it. I see scars, which most people wouldn't notice at all, but that to me decry in a loud and uncomfortable voice of misjudgements and mistakes. I see freckles, which I never notice I have since I rarely look at my back. And I see age, which always makes me uncomfortable.
At the same time, I see written all the times I have lifted my daughter up in my arms, all the rocks I've climbed, all the push-ups I have done, and every time I have held close those I love. I marvel at my own body. I marvel at the engineering that went into it. I marvel at the miracle that makes it work.
I have a pretty good self-image. I actually like myself and how I look most of the time. And that's a good thing.
1 comment:
Self-image involves much more than your physical being. What you see in the mirror (or photograph) is only a small portion of the self. What do you see of yourself in others? Do you exist only in relation to others? Do you exist in the space between relationships? Are you defined by your relationships? Or are you defined by the physical world? Or the spiritual? Are the two seperate?
You are more than a father, husband, and artist. The self is as rich as sapphire velvet. Allow yourself to peel off the layers of the self that you know and see what you find.
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