he more I gaze into the reflection in our bathroom mirror, the more I know I could be happy in a world without mirrors.
I was fighting with my hair, trying to tame it into submission. By the time I came to the back of my hair, I simply went by feel. A few quick swishes with the flat iron, it felt good enough and I was good to go. Because I can't see the back of my head, I have the illusion it looks just fine. No fuss. No muss. It is what it is. What I can't see can't hurt me. Carry on!
Why don't I feel that way about the hair that frames my face? Why have I become obsessed with the reflection in our mirror? What if the only reflection I saw was the expression on the faces of those who touch my life?
When I am wrapped up in a conversation that matters, I feel deep and thoughtful and all that matters is that my eyes reflect interest and caring.
When I am in an environment that lifts me up and makes me want to dance, I feel young, vibrant and full of life. I have seen pictures of myself in that environment. That girl looks nothing like the reflection in our bathroom mirror.
When I am taking care of my young daycare family, I hear and see myself in their words and actions. One does not need a mirror or tape recorder to see what my young charges see and hear. When my little two-year-old started complaining about her sore back and shoulder, after realizing she hadn't hurt herself, I stopped and listened. I heard myself.
What if there were no mirrors in our world? What if all we knew of our reflection is what life reflected back to us — smiles, sour looks, joy, sorrow, elation, devastation. Would we change our look based on trying to change the expression on those who reflected what was going on inside of us?
What if all we knew of our look is what we saw in a shadow, an aluminum surface or a pool of water? Somewhat distorted, we may look better or worse, fatter or thinner, taller or shorter. My hair may still be an issue because my shadow has shown me things I never knew about my hair.
What if the reflection we see in our mirror is not at all what the world sees? We may see wrinkles, grey roots and bad hair. The world may see character, wisdom and a carefree spirit. We may think we see beauty when the world outside of the mirror may see vanity or a shallow soul. We may think we are ugly when the world sees beauty that goes far deeper than a mirror could ever reflect.
When I walk away from a person, what stays with me? Is it the way they look on the outside or is it what is inside that counts? I always remember the way another person made me feel. That is something a mirror does not reflect. Our character is the one thing we do have control over and we should work on that the hardest.
Let's ditch our mirrors today and go out and live a day we hope to see reflected back to us.
