Mirror Mirror

              

          Dogs are more like us than we may think. Most of them have an imprint, or a mental image of who they are. Small dogs may see themselves as massive machines made for destruction and the likes of a Great Dane could see himself as a tiny ant. This creates a problem when they happen to see their true image reflected in the mirror. This mirror version of them seems to be another dog because they could never truly look like that in their minds. For all they know, this ‘other’ dog is a threat and this is what causes them to become hostile when they look at their reflection. So they bark, and they bark, and they bark, as if their incessant noise is going to drive the evil doer away.

            Humans have a way of doing this too. So very often people all over the world are looking into the mirror and barking. They blaspheme, shouting “This could not be me! I could never look this ugly!” When in reality what they are seeing is far more beautiful than they will ever know. Humans have an imprint too, and it is usually set by society.

            We are told what beauty is from a young age, skinny, tall, tan, and flawless.  When people see a dog with its ribs showing they call it cruelty yet somewhere along the way this became beautiful for a human, causing millions of girls to bark at themselves in the mirror wishing for their bones to protrude.

            Women as a whole spend approximately 7 billion dollars on makeup a year. These products claim to enhance your beauty, yet still they see themselves in the mirror and begin to bark. So then they have to go out again and by the latest and greatest product claiming to fix the problems that their imprint has created for them.

            It all seems to come back to the mirror though. When the animals are not looking into it they can carry on their merry way without every knowing that they are not who they think they are. Again, people tend to be the same way. If they do not look into the mirror, how will the ever know what they look like? Sure, it would probably result in some unruly people, but they would never know it. Could you imagine if for a week the entire world stopped looking into mirrors? How would they apply makeup? How would they shave? How would they do anything to morph their face into what is considered acceptable for society? Maybe they wouldn't.

            The mirror has been a great advancement in society, and in the past it was even seen as a magical object where a parallel universe existed. There, you could meet yourself. How often do people go to the mirror and expect to meet themselves? They pick themselves up and hope that when they look into the mirror they will see what has been poured into their brain for so long, but instead they find someone so uniquely individual that they are let down. Before them stands a beautiful person who will one day be the love of someone’s life, the parent to adoring children, and then a grandparent who spends their days spoiling their beloved grandchildren. Yet they cannot see it, because they are too busy searching for what society tells them they should see. So often, people become the evil step mother in Snow White and they begin to look to their mirror for answers. “Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”

            Maybe it’s time people put the mirror down and started looking inside for their answers. Instead of trying to live up to what society says is beautiful try becoming the best you. It’s not the words spoken by those with bad intent that define a person but rather what they know inside their heart. It’s time to take a stand and become what you've always known, something more than what the mirror shows. You are you, and that right there makes you pretty amazing.