--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The truth about yourself is so near, so…" description: "\"“The truth about yourself is so near, so close, that it is very difficult to perceive. Just as it is difficult to style your hair, apply makeup, or sha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/darren-main-4353_masks_the-truth-about-yourself-is-so-near-so-c_1307308.jpg" --- # The truth about yourself is so near, so close, that it is… ![“The truth about yourself is so near, so close, that it is very difficult to perceive. Just as it is difficult to style your hair, apply makeup, or shave without a mirror, we require a mirror of sorts to spiritually groom ourselves. For most, that mirror is relationships with others. People who…” quote by Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/darren-main-4353_masks_the-truth-about-yourself-is-so-near-so-c_1307308.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/darren-main-4353_masks_the-truth-about-yourself-is-so-near-so-c_1307308.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27c/darren-main-4353_masks_the-truth-about-yourself-is-so-near-so-c_1307308.jpg) > ““The truth about yourself is so near, so close, that it is very difficult to perceive. Just as it is difficult to style your hair, apply makeup, or shave without a mirror, we require a mirror of sorts to spiritually groom ourselves. For most, that mirror is relationships with others. People who wear masks of untrustworthiness, dishonesty, selfishness, and greed see those qualities reflected back from everyone they meet—even the most noble souls who cross their paths. But people who have put their masks aside are able to experience compassion, love, and wholeness in others, even in their adversaries—even in those who are still mired in a tangled web of fear, insecurity, and abrasiveness.”” [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑knowledge requires external feedback; relationships act as mirrors revealing our true character, both virtues and flaws. **In simple terms:** We need others to see ourselves clearly. Key Takeaway Seek honest relationships for growth. Themes self‑awareness relationships integrity Mood reflective introspective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - teamwork - leadership - conflict resolution - personal therapy - mentorship Key Concepts psychology mirror metaphor spiritual grooming Questions to Reflect On - Who in your life reflects your hidden traits? - How can you use criticism constructively? A Different Perspective People may hide behind masks, limiting insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-love/) [Masks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masks/) [Masks Aside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masks-aside-4313081/) [Masks Untrustworthiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masks-untrustworthiness-4313079/) [Meditation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meditation/) [Mindfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindfulness/) [Mirror Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror-relationships-4313080/) [Spiritually Groom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritually-groom-4313082/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Yoga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yoga/) ## Related quotes > [“The lower a human being descends, the more asleep and inhumane he becomes. Those beings that lack Compassion, Love, and Peace are the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-ripstein/the-lower-a-human-being-descends-the-more-asleep-and-inhumane-he/) [Jacqueline Ripstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-ripstein/) > [I've got to love the souls of people. Because I can't love every incarnation. I have to identify with my own soul. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/i-ve-got-to-love-the-souls-of-people-because-i-can-t-love-every/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Let us develop respect for all living things. Let us try to replace violence and intolerance with understanding and compassion. And love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/let-us-develop-respect-for-all-living-things-let-us-try-to-replace/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“All forms of writing are an act of conception; writing must lead to creation. Each time that we write, we begin again. Writing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/all-forms-of-writing-are-an-act-of-conception-writing-must-lead-to/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“For in this love he now felt there was compassion: without which love is untempered, and is not whole, and does not last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-in-this-love-he-now-felt-there-was-compassion-without-which-love/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [In whatever guise - our own daily nightmares of war, intolerance, inhumanity or the struggles of an Assistant Pig-Keeper against the Lord of Death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/in-whatever-guise-our-own-daily-nightmares-of-war-intolerance/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [When the energy of compassion and love touches us, healing establishes itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/when-the-energy-of-compassion-and-love-touches-us-healing-establishes/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Spirituality is allowing compassion and love to flourish. When belongness begins, corruption ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/spirituality-is-allowing-compassion-and-love-to-flourish-when/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/mama-was-my-greatest-teacher-a-teacher-of-compassion-love-and/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Studies have shown touch to be the primary language of compassion, love and gratitude - emotions at the heart of trust and cooperation -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacher-keltner/studies-have-shown-touch-to-be-the-primary-language-of-compassion/) [Dacher Keltner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacher-keltner/) > ['Les Miserables', the book, 'Les Miserables', the musical - it's about giving; it's about goodness. It's about compassion and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-wilkinson/les-miserables-the-book-les-miserables-the-musical-it-s-about-giving/) [Colm Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-wilkinson/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [No deep and strong feeling, such as we may come across here and there in the world, is unmixed with compassion. The more we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/no-deep-and-strong-feeling-such-as-we-may-come-across-here-and-there/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“The kindness sent from one compassionate soul to another during the time of loss of one held so dear allows the sorrow-filled heart to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-friedenfeld/the-kindness-sent-from-one-compassionate-soul-to-another-during-the/) [Molly Friedenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-friedenfeld/) > [Some people compress compassion and call it love others, compress love and call it loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/some-people-compress-compassion-and-call-it-love-others-compress-love/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) ## More by Darren Main > [“What I can tell you is that yoga is about removing the muck by shining the light of awareness on it. That is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/what-i-can-tell-you-is-that-yoga-is-about-removing-the-muck-by/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Each time we come to savasana, we practice dying—we surrender the body to the earth and prepare for our destiny in this life. Facing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/each-time-we-come-to-savasana-we-practice-dying-we-surrender-the-body/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“All great myths and stories follow a similar pattern. The hero gets distracted and questions his power. He struggles and flounders until he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/all-great-myths-and-stories-follow-a-similar-pattern-the-hero-gets/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Attachment is the act of trying to control, manipulate, or sculpt the outside world in such a way that we lose sight of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/attachment-is-the-act-of-trying-to-control-manipulate-or-sculpt-the/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Most people spend years trying to feng shui their lives—to decorate and reorganize life in such a way that order and peace will finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/most-people-spend-years-trying-to-feng-shui-their-lives-to-decorate/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Yoga gives you the freedom to choose, but it does not guarantee you will choose freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/yoga-gives-you-the-freedom-to-choose-but-it-does-not-guarantee-you/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Guilt is like tarnish on a piece of silver. It effectively obscures beauty and radiance, but can never lessen its true value. Just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/guilt-is-like-tarnish-on-a-piece-of-silver-it-effectively-obscures/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“The miracle of yoga is not that we get to reshape the external world—to bend the laws of time and space. The miracle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/the-miracle-of-yoga-is-not-that-we-get-to-reshape-the-external-world/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“Standing at the end of a diving board looking at the water never made the water warmer, but it will make taking the plunge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/standing-at-the-end-of-a-diving-board-looking-at-the-water-never-made/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“What is it to succeed in yoga? Success in yoga means finding the smile buried deep beneath the pain and discomfort of any moment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/what-is-it-to-succeed-in-yoga-success-in-yoga-means-finding-the-smile/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“It is easy to make the mistake of thinking yoga is about touching your toes when in fact yoga is about learning to touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/it-is-easy-to-make-the-mistake-of-thinking-yoga-is-about-touching/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“To a yogi, the breath is the anchor that keeps the mind in the eternal now. Just as an anchored boat still shifts with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/to-a-yogi-the-breath-is-the-anchor-that-keeps-the-mind-in-the-eternal/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“A mud pie is, at the end of the day, attractively packaged mud. A life spent in pursuit of comfort and leisure—of being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/a-mud-pie-is-at-the-end-of-the-day-attractively-packaged-mud-a-life/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“There is a need somewhere in this world that only your dharma, fully expressed, can fulfill. The reason there is such overwhelming need in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/there-is-a-need-somewhere-in-this-world-that-only-your-dharma-fully/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) > [“In most forms of exercise one’s breath follows the movement—the faster and harder you work, the faster and harder you will breathe. In yoga,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-main/in-most-forms-of-exercise-one-s-breath-follows-the-movement-the/) [Darren Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) [Explore all 111 Darren Main quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-main/) ## More Masks quotes > [“I hid my wound under my clothes. Nobody could see it, including myself, and I completely forgot about it. Then I met someone who,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franco-santoro/i-hid-my-wound-under-my-clothes-nobody-could-see-it-including-myself/) [Franco Santoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franco-santoro/) > [“Deadpool: These masks, you know, they hide more than faces, Bank. They hide feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-van-lente/deadpool-these-masks-you-know-they-hide-more-than-faces-bank-they/) [Fred Van Lente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-van-lente/) > [Women have been charged with deviousness and duplicity since the dawn of civilization so they have never been able to pretend that their masks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/women-have-been-charged-with-deviousness-and-duplicity-since-the-dawn/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [My sole goal in life is to look like a foetus, well not the sole one, but it's up there. I spend quite a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/my-sole-goal-in-life-is-to-look-like-a-foetus-well-not-the-sole-one/) [Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/) > [Curiosity is one of the many masks of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/curiosity-is-one-of-the-many-masks-of-love/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Modern man has too many masks to wear. We must unmask and be ourselves, sincerely, earnestly and live truly as we are,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyomay-m-kubose/modern-man-has-too-many-masks-to-wear-we-must-unmask-and-be-ourselves/) [Gyomay M. Kubose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyomay-m-kubose/) > [The New York Times published the guest list on the front page. The masks were a brilliant concept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-plimpton/the-new-york-times-published-the-guest-list-on-the-front-page-the/) [George Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-plimpton/) > [Straw and the Ghost when it goes down, vest and a fo'-pound. We don't give a fuck about the law when we blast off.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-block/straw-and-the-ghost-when-it-goes-down-vest-and-a-fo-pound-we-don-t/) [D Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-block/) > [I love sheet masks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-cyrus/i-love-sheet-masks/) [Brandi Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-cyrus/) > [I like the masks; because the real face of the mask is again itself!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/i-like-the-masks-because-the-real-face-of-the-mask-is-again-itself/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [They look so expectant, and then they look so depressed... that was the other great lesson that The Royal Hunt of the Sun taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/they-look-so-expectant-and-then-they-look-so-depressed-that-was-the/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [I'm betting between the two of them, they've probably broken a ton of face masks. Their own and those of a bunch of defensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bettis/i-m-betting-between-the-two-of-them-they-ve-probably-broken-a-ton-of/) [Jerome Bettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bettis/) > [I went through a phase of buying a lot of masks, as anyone who has been to a party at the house will testify.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/i-went-through-a-phase-of-buying-a-lot-of-masks-as-anyone-who-has/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [Everywhere else, we are someone else, but at home, we remove our masks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/everywhere-else-we-are-someone-else-but-at-home-we-remove-our-masks/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Until you get left for Mr. Bean, you don't realise how frequently he pops up. There's a shop two streets from my house that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-acaster/until-you-get-left-for-mr-bean-you-don-t-realise-how-frequently-he/) [James Acaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-acaster/) [Browse all 303 Masks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masks/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The truth about yourself is so near, so close, that it is very difficult to perceive. Just as it is difficult to style your hair, apply makeup, or shave without a mirror, we require a mirror of sorts to spiritually groom ourselves. For most, that mirror is relationships with others. People who wear masks of untrustworthiness, dishonesty, selfishness, and greed see those qualities reflected back from everyone they meet—even the most noble souls who cross their paths. 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