As a teenager I was the biggest primper on the other side of the pond. Changed the way my hair looked almost daily. Tried out new eye shadows, latest trends in shoes and wanted to be the first to have the newest style in clothes. Well as soon as I could talk my folks into letting me have them. In fact I’m pretty sure I would have won a primping award if there were one. My Dad used to say there wasn’t a mirror that I didn’t have to look in. He forgot to mention store fronts too. I never could resist checking that I looked okay, after all I might bump into Gavin, or Jeremy, or Evan or whoever was my latest crush and naturally I needed to look my best.
I remember my Mum telling me that the biggest and most important mirror of all was the one that reflected my life. What? I didn’t have a clue. What the heck did she mean? I pondered it for a minute, maybe half a minute before moving on. Didn’t have time to ask for explanations. She wasn’t very good at them anyway, believing it best that I found these rules of life out for myself having pointed me in the right direction.
Many, many years later I began to notice things like this:
We think in secret and it comes to pass, environment is but our looking glass.
Your world is a grand mirror constantly telling you who you are. As you meet people, they tell you by their behavior who you are.
But your natural world is nothing more than a mirror, forever reflecting your inner mind.
He looks into the mirror of life and sees what he looks like, then he turns and forgets what he was like.
It is eternally true that the outside mirrors the inside. As within, so without.
Maybe you get the picture quicker than I did!
There were times when I was definitely a bit slow on the uptake on this law of life stuff, but once I got it, I had to try it out. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That’s the kind of gal I am!
I began looking at this mirror called life and realized that just like the mirror I used to primp in I couldn’t change anything I saw in it, at least not permanently, until I changed what was causing the reflection. After all I didn’t expect to change my hairstyle by touching my mirror.
So, as Confucius probably said at one time or another…back to the drawing board.
There was no one to change but me, which means there was nothing to change but the thoughts and feelings that I had. I was ready to look at the world differently.
Enough fumbling from one less than ideal experience to another, I was ready to deliberately and consciously change my reflection. I discovered for myself that everything was a thought before it became a thing and there never has existed a thought, word or deed that wasn’t caused by love, or by its opposite – fear of some kind, and I was ready to live a life filled with more loving thoughts and less fear. Ready to have my mirror reflect back to me a better lived life.
It’s an ongoing project…so meantime….
Encourage each other.
Love Elle.
xoxo
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10 Comments
Elle,
This was absolutely lovely. I so agree with you too! I’m often reminded of the film, “A Portrait of Dorian Gray.” It’s a classic and I’m sure you’ve seen. Do you recall how his portrait changed as he became meaner, more selfish and self-centered?
What a great analogy Angela. I remember reading the book lo those many years ago, but I don’t think I ever say the movie. Maybe I should take a look since we’re talking about mirrors.:-)
Really loved this line: But your natural world is nothing more than a mirror, forever reflecting your inner mind.
And isn’t it oh so true Alisa. It’s a great system in helping us be aware, so we can choose to have different experiences…or not!
Elle,
This is what they need to teach children in school!!!
That would be be great Tess.
It was towards the end of your article that a bit really caught my attention. Taking the liberty to paraphrase: ‘our thoughts thus our experiences can be distilled down to either being love-based or fear-based’. And there you go again, providing me with wonderful fuel for contemplation. Thank you !
Write on, Elle !
I’m so happy you enjoy the blog Joseph, I hope it’s as much as I enjoy your comments.:-)
Spot on, as usual, Elle. I guess if you want to know what you really believe, who you really are – just look at your life!
Your Mum was a wise woman!
I know…it’s sort of a good news/bad news thingy.