On Saturday I went out with some friends for a few drinks. Obviously being a group of women, after we had exhausted finding out about the latest gossip that was going on it our lives, the conversation turned to other females in the bar. It is quiet astounding how many other women looked like they’d got dressed in the dark or they’d bought their clothes from a jumble sale. I’m not completely oblivious to fashion; it’s just that I don’t think that PVC open-toed shoes in red when coupled bright red nail polish and a red dress, in an equally garish shade, that’s about two sizes too small is not a good look – think more Lady of the Night than Lady in Red and you’re part way there.
It got me thinking about whether people actually do have full length mirrors at home and, if so then why don’t they use them? It’s interesting that from the shoulders upwards they look ok – not a hair out of place, make-up not looking like a psychotic clown on LSD but looking fairly natural. All the more reason to be curious about what happened to the rest of them?
There should be a proverb that a full length mirror is for life not just for having a quick glance before you go out on a Saturday night. This is my convoluted way of saying that as individuals it’s more important that the perception that we have of ourselves, as an individual, is more valid than how other people see us. Even our close friends are likely to have an agenda as to what things they want to accept about us and the things that they’d rather turn a blind eye to and ignore completely. It’s easy to obscure or manipulate a perception that we have of someone if it doesn’t meet the image that we want to have of that person.
It’s only when we can fully accept all the things that our staring back at us in the mirror and acknowledge and accept the faults and failings in front of us that we can become the people that we want to be and not get too buried by what’s happened to us in the past.
I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones. I don’t just have a full length mirror: I have mirrored wardrobes –top to bottom mirrors directly opposite my bed. There is no avoiding what I wake up to every morning. Perhaps sometimes it’s not the best idea to scrutinise every tiny failing that we have (if I did I don't think I'd have the motivation to get out of bed some days) but it does no harm to open our eyes about be more self-aware about who we are.
I’m finally at a time in my life where I’m comfortable with the reflection of the person I see in the mirror. No it’s not perfect but then I don’t think I’d ever want to be. If people criticise me they’re more than welcome because I’m fortunate enough to see the big picture and it’s all thanks to my full length mirrors.
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