Man in the Mirror/Child in the Puddle

As we walk through our lives, we build images of ourselves. A middle-aged executive with a neatly trimmed beard and a tailored suit will have pride when he looks into his silver edged mirror at his reflection. A drunk in the back alley with a weathered, scruffy face and no place to call home will feel shame when he gazes into a broken piece of a car mirror. Right?

Maybe not. That executive who sees himself in the fancy mirror knows things about himself that he may never share with anyone else. And who knows if he is proud of them, or ashamed. The vagrant, by the same token, may be a proud man fallen on hard times. He may simply be proud that he is still alive.

What we see when we look in the mirror is colored by what we know about ourselves. Life is a journey of self-discovery, and the more we discover, the more our reflection changes, at least to our eyes. Maybe you've had a certain haircut for several weeks and you get one that is drastically different. When you go home will you instantly know your own reflection?

If experience changes how we see our reflection, what do very young children see in themselves? The answer is nothing but simultaneously everything. When a child looks at their reflection, they have the ability to see what they are, and what they can be. They can see the five year old staring into the little puddle and the fisherman looking down on the ocean. They can see the six year old in the mirror above the sink, and they can see the doctor scrubbing up before surgery.

At some point in our lives, most of us lose that wonderful ability. The weight of our experience overwhelms the fragile wings of our imagination. We give up on the future, and let the past be what we are. We slip away from our dreams, and we hide in our memories.

I have a challenge for all of you.
Go find a mirror. Look into it, and no matter how old you are, try to see you the way your eight year old self would have. Forget, just for a moment, all of those heavy experiences, and spread out the wings of your imagination. Now, if you can, find a different mirror. (It's not vital to do this, but it might help you with your visualization.) Look into it and see yourself as you will when you are one hundred years old, looking back. Fold your wings of imagination, and see yourself with the happy contentment of memory.

Now close your eyes, clear your mind, and then look again at your reflection. Are you the man (or woman) your childhood self saw looking back at them? Or are you the child staring back at an ancient sage from the depths of a puddle? If you see yourself the way you imagined, then you have been blessed. If you see yourself the way you will remember, then you are blessed. And if you look and all you see is you, then look for your blessings. I promise there are more than you think.