People Are like Art

Maybe the good we see in others is just our own. And the darkness we see in them is ours too.

When I go to museums or art galleries, I’m interested in how people interpret art or how it makes them feel because most of the time it doesn’t really tell about the art but more about them or their mind and experiences.

People are also like art. People are messy, abstract, layered and open to interpretation but most of the time, what we’re really seeing is actually just us in them.

I had this thought while staring at my ceiling (as one does): What if the good we see in others is literally just the good in us bleeding on them? What if we’re really just recognizing kindness we already have in ourselves?

Sometimes we expect people to act like us or assume they like what we like. For example, there was this food I didn’t enjoy, and I had some extra. I figured my friend wouldn’t like it either, so I didn’t offer it. Later, I found out they actually loved that food and thought I was being selfish. In reality, I was just projecting my own preferences onto them without even realizing it.

Maybe we’re just holding up a mirror. Maybe they’re not even that great, but we’re projecting. Like, you think you’re amazing (whether you admit it or not), so you assume other people are too. The same way people project their insecurities, what if we also project our goodness?

And I know, I know, this is sounding a bit disillusioned… but stay with me. Because there’s a flip side:

What if the very thing about someone that annoys you, disgusts you, or even scares you is actually the part of yourself you’re trying hardest to suppress? What if the darkness we see in others is, in some way, our own?

There’s still something strangely beautiful about that idea. Because it would mean that every interpretation we have of someone isn’t just about them it’s also a reflection of how deeply we’re beginning to understand ourselves.

And if that’s true… maybe judgment isn’t the enemy after all. Maybe it’s just the first step toward self-awareness.

I hope that by realizing that the way we see others reflects who we are, we also learn to be kinder to ourselves. That instead of pushing those darker parts away, we learn to understand them, soften toward them, and maybe even heal.