~Pokémon SW&SH: Raihan X Listener SFW: Mistakes~ {Patreon Exclusive}

You haven't been feeling great about yourself lately, but Raihan always has a weird way of making you feel better.....

Contains: Comfort, Advice, Story Telling, Petname (Love)

                                                                            The Folklore:

So, the story that Raihan tells in this audio is a simplified version of a fable known as The Magic Mirror that is Spanish/Portuguese in origin! Basically, is goes as such: The King of Granada is looking for a wife, but there is one stipulation: whoever wants to be his wife must look into a magic mirror that judges the goodness of her character, and will show as many blemishes on the mirror as she has made mistakes in her life. All of the women, at first eager to marry the king, refuse to look into the mirror. Only one comes forward: a lowly shepherdess. Upon being challenged by the magic mirror, the shepherdess says that she is not afraid because everyone makes mistakes and can be forgiven. After she looks into the mirror, the king reveals that there was no magic mirror, but that he was instead testing their confidence in themselves.

When I saw this story, I thought it would be a great story to help segue/help someone who isn't feeling confident with oneself, and that mistakes aren't the end of the world. I felt like Raihan would have experiences in that, and would be the type of person to use a story to try to help someone feel better, and tie it in with genuine advice, compassion, and understanding. Also, I want to apologize if it sounds like Raihan is talking in an empty room, I didn't realize the echo-ish effect would be that bad until after I recorded everything. I tried to fix it as best as I can, and it is more noticeable if you listen to it louder, sorry about that! Once I get fully moved in and can soundproof my new space completely, the audio should sound better!

~Audio Transcript Below~

Raihan: Hey, I heard you're having a real tough time with yourself right now, like.....your self image and just like I guess......your person in general?

It's alright, you don't gotta apologize, we all have moments were self reflection might turn into a downward spiral.....

So are you.....just not feeling confident or??

*long pause*

Hm.....well....that is....definitely a lot of things that you're thinkin' about......and it feels like this isn't a.....recent thing.....these are things that have been on your mind for a long time.......hm......well......

Do you mind.....if I tell you a quick story?

*pause*

It's relevant, I promise......

So....once, a long time ago, there was a King, who was looking for a wife, but he had a sort of condition for anyone who wanted to marry him. She had to look into a magic mirror that judges the goodness of her character, and the mirror would show as many flaws and marks on her face as the amount of mistakes she'd made in her life. So many of the women who were eager to marry the King flat out refused. Only one stepped forward, and she was a shepherdess, someone who many thought wasn't good enough to marry the King. She says she's not afraid of seeing what's inside the mirror, because everyone in life makes mistakes, and those can be forgiven. But as it turns out, the magic mirror was a fake, it wasn't real, and the King was testing their faith in themselves.........

*pause*

I don't exactly have a hand mirror, but here....humor me.....look at the front facing camera on my rotom phone..........

Just take a minute, and look at yourself.......

Everyone makes mistakes, and those mistakes are often inflated by our own sense of them, we sometimes catastrophize things when in reality, no one else can even see them, have no idea about them, and most don't even care about them......

The mistakes that you've made aren't the end of the world, either.....you're still here, still living, still breathing, still trying your best to live each day as best as you can.....

For the most part, mistakes can be forgiven........

Looking into a mirror---or in this case a phone screen--and saying, "I've made mistakes.....and that's ok, that doesn't make me a bad person," can be helpful, even if it's just a reminder that you're human, and no human is infallible.

Mistakes and failure don't mean that you're a weak person either......You can work on looking at those past mistakes, or those past conceived failures and remind yourself that you are human, that you have a life outside of your mistakes, and that your failures do not define you, but can teach you things

Focus on what you learned from them, not on the missteps themselves......it's hard not to take it personally, but at the end of the day......you are still alive, you're still trying......

You're stronger, and more well balanced than you think, you know?

And like, subverting those instantly negative thoughts and associations that we have with ourselves when it comes to what we call 'mistakes' is definitely hard.....it takes time, and it takes work, and it won't always be easy, but it's worth knowing that you are not flawless....that's part of being a human.

It helps build your confidence. So that one day you can look in the mirror and say, "Yes, I may have made mistakes, but this is what I've learned, and this is how it's helped me become a more well rounded and a more balanced person."

Confidence is not being someone who knows they will not fail, but knows that even if they do fail, that they aren't worthless, that they are human, and that there is still something to be learned when things don't go your way.......

Cognitive distortion this is all called, taking those instantly negative thoughts that have been ingrained in us from either trauma, anxiety, depression, what have you, and interjecting with compassion, with understanding.......

Think about it this way, what if you had a friend--say me--what would you say to me, if I was feeling the way that you are right in this moment. What would you say?

*pause*

You'd say, "It's alright, you're a human being, making mistakes isn't the end of the world" or something to that effect, right?

Who knows why it's so much harder to treat ourselves in that manner--human brains being the weird things that they are--but that's helpful too. Treat yourself like how you would treat a loved one, because that's how they view you in these circumstances far more often than not.......

*pause*

You....can stop lookin' at the phone now I--

I hope that at least made you feel a little bit better.....

Would you like a hug?

Remember, you're human, you are allowed to make mistakes.....the world will keep on turning, you will keep on living, and you will make it through this.

And whenever you need a voice to remind you of that, you let me know.......you don't have to do it all by yourself either.....I'm here for you.......cause I think you're Aces........

*pause*

Love you too, Love........