Are You Afraid Of Mirrors??

Are You Afraid Of Mirrors??
By: MrJackBrickhouse (@GotMYShades)  cabdoffical.com
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Mirrors are such simple things. A piece of glass that shows you a reflection of yourself when you peer into it. Simple concept yet very complex to many individuals. On the surface, mirrors are very helpful. They allow us to wipe the eye crust out of our eyes in the mornings and complete our individual hygiene routines as we start our day. Mirrors allow others to ask us questions such as, "You must have not have taken a look in the mirror this morning." or the always classic "She knows damn well she looked like a fool before she walked out the house!" When those statements occur, there is an assumption being made by the antagonist that the protagonist in fact owns a mirror. Wild!  Have you ever thought about life with no mirrors? The world, more specifically Americans, would more than likely operate completely different than we do currently. Unfortunately however, I'm sure as Americans we would find away to segregate ourselves from each other. It's like programmed into your DNA for U.S. citizens. That's a whole other story. LOL. So mirrors, in my opinion, are a staple of the culture. To clarify my meaning of "culture" in this context, I'm referring to "civilized" humans. Anyone who lives in any city, town, suburban neighborhood, or farm setup where you have some concept of a bathroom, even if it's outside. People in my definition of "culture" in this context refer to people who live in some type of covered structure. Tee pee, tent, cabin, condo, mansion, you know what I mean. Whatever allows you to sleep comfortably at night. Getting back into it, as important as mirrors are in our fragile society, many people despise mirrors.

Why do we find ourselves hating mirrors so much you ask? I think the reasoning varies for each person as it does with many aspects of the structure of life we all choose to buy into to keep this "civilization" thing rolling along. LOL. Once you penetrate the initial picture that jumps out at you and began to peer into your soul, it gets scary for some people.  It's the only time, unless you are on live camera and watching yourself in the monitor, where you are able to view your face from an outside perspective in real time. I use the word "outside" loosely due to the fact that you never leave your point of viewing. This is part of the great convenience that mirrors provide us. That outside experience is the greatest thing until one begins to associate what they see in the mirror with the comments and criticisms of others. You mix low self esteem with a side of depression and you have an emotional wreck trying to stay afloat while drowning in tears over the sink. It's tough! Happens to the best of us. It's one of those things that we don't discuss. It's one of those topics that only hits the menu once the emotional entree is served in an unplanned situation. In other words it's usually forced out by either another person or just plain old guilt from the suffering person. Either way topics like depression and low self esteem are very incognito in the daily dialogues of our culture.
While these mirrors are an underlying nuisance for many, there are a group of people who have befriended the mirror and it pays dividends in return. Dancers, singers, and anyone else who is involved in live performances will admit that befriending a mirror was one of the best decisions of their lives.  These individuals understand that by identifying and correcting their imperfections in the mirror prior to the actual live performance, they are able to avoid a ton of embarrassment and criticism while receiving praise and applause for their hard work and preparation for their performance. This doesn't have to just be a concept for performers as it can be integrated into each one of our lives.

Instead of hiding behind makeup, clothes, costumes or whatever it is you do to ease the sight of yourself, take accountability for who is staring back at you. Understand every life experience you have had until the second you read this line is the result of a series of choices. Now some of you may say "Babies can't make choices!" Not true! If a kid is crawling around a room, sticks their finger in the electrical socket, that baby made a choice. A harsh choice, yet a choice! The choice to touch the socket is likely a choice driven by curiosity, but yet is still in fact a choice. Sorry! Now this series of choices have many influences that affect the reasoning behind making each decision. So as I mentioned earlier, it will differ for each and everyone of us. Even if you grew up in a household with siblings, each of you interpreted the common life experiences you had differently. Our individual interpretations of life are what usually cause many conflicts that arise in our lives. Although we have similar experiences such as going to school, traveling, working, or shopping in common, many people try and force their view of the flow of life onto another individual. Some want whatever is acceptable for them to also be acceptable for their spouse, family member, or co-worker as well. That's just not realistic. Understand we all experience life differently and are allowed to have our own interpretations of any event we experience. The next time you find yourself in a disagreement with another individual, instead of starting every sentence with you and pointing the finger at the opposition, both of you try and start each sentence with I. "I felt this way when you did this.." I am extremely angry right now because to my understanding these are the facts.." or even "It hurts me when you do this..." Any variation of those can change the outcome of a situation. It's not an overnight relationship saver, LOL, but this tactic can assist the communication stream immensely.

Remember life is all about perspective. You are who you think you are. So the next time you and your mirror cross paths, don't be so cold to it. Stop and say hello! Start a new relationship with your mirror as the performer has where he/she utilizes the mirror to their advantage. Performers like for themselves to be their first audience before they share their work with the rest of the world.  Sit in the front row of your daily performance in life and ask yourself, "Do I like the way this show is going?"

~MJB~

MrJackBrickhouse is a producer, public speaker, podcaster, blogger, and author who is on a mission to positively impact the world. With his finger on the pulse of society, he strives to revive the "anything is possible" attitude that is usually lost in our transition into adulthood.