I was startled awake last night to the sound of glass breaking. I jumped out of bed thinking someone had broken in when I walked into my bathroom and found that a full length mirror had fallen and shattered on the floor. (thankfully no robbers in the house!). It was a mirror that I’d had since I started college. I’d moved it from dorm rooms to apartments to houses and now to a home with my husband. It was just a simple mirror from Target, probably cost less than $20. But as I swept it up and saw my reflection in the broken pieces, it made me think of all the stages in my life that I had stood in front of that same mirror to take an evaluation of myself. It has seen me at a wide array of moments — going off on a date, dressing for a funeral, primping for a friends wedding, crying over a bad hair cut, or dealing with a broken heart.
The mirror always gave me the true reflection of who I was. It didn’t change me at all. Straight up. Me. As I was at that moment. But yet, then, why did I always see the reflection in a different light? Why was, is, the reflection blurry sometimes?
As human beings (ok, mostly women!), we buy into the belief that we need to appear to have it all together. Our image in the mirror needs to be refined, held together, emotionally stable, with a little bit of blush on our cheeks. Though, I realize that it’s not the outside world putting expectations on me to be all those things…I AM. I put all those pressures on myself…Why? Because I think that’s what others want? Or I can no longer see what’s real? Everyone around me allows me to make mistakes, have bad hair days, and order take out because I couldn’t get a meal made. Yet I am my own worst critic and I need to stop. And you need to stop doing it to yourself, too.
We expect ourselves to be able to do it all. Keep the house in order, educate the kids, earn a respectable wage, and have a well-balanced meal on the table by six sharp. Oh, and don’t forget about donating time to the local charity. And if we can keep up with this rat race, we are left empty at the end of the day and still seeing a false reflection in the mirror.
So, this is my challenge to my dear readers today. Break the mirrors (maybe not literally or it could get messy…though sometimes it’s through the mess that you learn the most). Start to un-cloud the reflection in the mirror. Give yourself some forgiveness and stop putting so much pressure on yourself. No on else is. If you don’t take care of you, you are of no use to the people around you (and no good for yourself either). Take it one small step at a time to unveil the woman in you that is perfect the way you are.
What do you do (or will you do) to start restoring yourself?
What’s one pressure of the day that you think you are doing for others, but really they don’t need it or appreciate it?
And if you clicked on this blog because you actually wanted to know what to polish your mirrors with to get a better reflection, I recommend Norwex rags. The best with no chemicals and no streaks!
Posted November 3, 2014
