What you see is what you get.

When you look inside yourself what do you see?
When you look at another person what do you see?

This morning I was reading the fantastic book, The God Who Won't Let Go by Jesuit Peter van Breeman, when I read the following:

Anthony De Mello writes the story about a journalist who wants to write a book about a guru. Therefore he pays him a visit and begins with the question, "People say you are a genius. Are you?" "You might say so." The guru answered. The journalist immediately fired back another question, "And what makes one a genius?" The guru said, "The ability to see." With a loss for words and helpless the journalist asked, "To see what?" The guru answered, "To see the butterfly in a caterpillar, the eagle in an egg, the saint in a selfish person."

"To reveal to a person his or her own beauty" is how Jean Vanier defines love. Jesus did the same thing. He created a climate in which people could unfold themselves, in which they discovered the good they carried in themselves.

How do you define love? How well do you see? Are you a genius? Know any geniuses? I once heard a pastor say, "When you come into a service, look for Jesus. Look for God." I wonder if we could apply the same principle to people that we come in contact each day? If I looked for God in each person I came into contact would probable change my life.

I wonder what I would see if I would attempt to reveal to a person his or her own beauty? Perhaps I could begin with myself. Have you ever noticed those who seem to be so blind to the beauty of others are ofen the one's most blind to their own beauty? I suspect one of the main reasons I fail to see the beauty in you is that I have not yet discovered my own beauty. Having my beauty revealed to me allows me to look for the beauty in you.

Perhaps there is truth to the old saying, "what you see is what you get."