The wisdom of Ramon Estevez
Updated: Aug 23, 2020
Ramon Estevez is a personal hero of mine – but not just because, under his screen name of Martin Sheen, he plays the President we all wish we had on one of my all time favourite shows (The West Wing) but because he is passionate, articulate, spiritual and committed to what he believes in (to the point of being arrested over 60 times for protesting!).
This quote jumped out at me from an interview with him I was reading recently.
I truly believe that the search for ourselves – the good, the bad and the ugly – and the expansion of our self-acceptance, self-compassion and self-love is and should be continuous, a life long quest.
"I was searching for that elusive thing that all of us search for. Most of the time we're not even conscious of it. But we're searching for ourselves in an authentic way. We want to recognise the person we see in the mirror and embrace that person with all the brokenness and lackustre, all the things that only we are aware of in the depth of our being." - Ramon Estevez/Martin Sheen
One of my other gurus Brene Brown says "authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are" (from Gifts of Imperfection - please read this if you haven't yet, please stop everything and get yourself a copy!).
All our imperfections and brokenness make us who we are. They make us human.
Like all of us Ramon Estevez has lived a life of ups and downs. He dealt with the loss of his mother at age 11, batted addiction and health issues, dug deeply to understand his immigrant family background, managed career slumps to become widely respected and revered for his body of work and held together his family through very public (and no doubt also private) difficulties. Now at nearly 80 years of age, I wonder what he sees when he looks in the mirror?
Who do you see?
Do you embrace all your brokenness and lacklustre?
Do you also recognise your beauty and grace?
Do you honour the things that are so deep in you that only you know about them?
Keep looking ... keep digging deep ... keep learning ... keep healing and growing.
PS – If you want to delve a little more into the mind and life of Martin/Ramon, this 40-ish minute interview is well worth a look.
Mirror photo by Vince Fleming on Unsplash