Fractured indigo tabletop mirror showing several stylized anonymous faces with broken glass at its base

Original artwork, not a still

Sydney J. Harris

It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves, and if you're not comfortable within yourself, you can't be comfortable with others.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker observes that many people never realise how their attitude to others is shaped by how they feel about themselves. Inner discomfort, they argue, makes ease with other people impossible. Self-acceptance is treated as the foundation for comfortable relationships.

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