Insight of the Week: The Mirror’s Reflection

How many hours per day do you think a person spends looking in the mirror?  Whether part of a morning routine or a quick check during the day; we wash up, comb our hair, put on make-up, brush our teeth, check our clothes, etc.  Add to that, getting ready for a special evening out…and a few selfies to preserve the moment… how many hours do you think the average person spends in front of the mirror?  Statistics tell us it’s 6.2 hours for women and 4.3 for men in the U.S. Yes, that’s a lot, especially when you consider that the focus is only on the outward appearance. What would happen though if we spent those hours in the mirror really looking at ourselves?  Not at our exterior appearance but at our inward image.  Staring into our eyes only, for several minutes, “to see” what lies within our soul?   What would you see?

Run an experiment and see how many minutes you can really look at yourself in the mirror. Look at all your physical characteristics – do they resemble anyone in your family? Look at your appendages – your arms and legs – have you ever appreciated them for carrying you through the day doing all the things you do? Put your hand on your heart – notice how you don’t have to do anything at all to keep it beating, your breath moving through your body, your blood in a state of homeostasis.  Notice how much you take your body and its amazing capability for granted. Now look further – what lies beyond your eyes? Do you like who you have become? When you look at yourself is it with love and appreciation or with judgement and criticism?  Do you respect the person you see? Would you want to hang out with him/her? Make them a close friend? Would you hire them to work for you?  As you continue to look within; reflect, have you evolved? Grown/matured? Or are you still engaging in the behavior of yesterday? Mirror therapy is an effective way to “see” our being and the parts of our self that we have disowned.  When engaged in honestly it fosters the path to change where needed. It lays the foundation for self-love as opposed to ego love ultimately bringing us home to self and to truly loving the reflection in the mirror.