Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall…


Mirrors come in many forms. When I think of mirrors today, what comes to mind are the relationships and experiences in my life which continue to reflect back to me pieces of myself. For the majority of my life through my mid-20s, I obsessed over the other kind of mirrors: the ones I spent countless hours staring at my body, my face, my hair… wishing I could change what was staring back at me. 


I can remember as a small child often spending endless time watching my reflection. I would even do this thing when I was really upset where I gained deep enjoyment from watching myself hysterically crying. Then, as I became older I would catch my reflection in a window or a mirror as I walked by on the street or at the gym, often analyzing my every move. This must be about around the time my perfectionism kicked into overdrive, because by the time I reached middle school you could hardly pry me away from the mirror until I made sure I looked as close to perfect as was humanly possible. 


By highschool I became quite obsessed with what I saw in the mirror, only now the fuel behind my fire had grown. I developed some negative self talk and had become extremely hateful to my reflection. I picked apart every aspect of myself, reluctant to find any glimpse of beauty in what I saw looking back at me.

My stomach was too pudgy, my arms were too flabby, my eyebrows were the wrong shape, my hair was the wrong color, my teeth weren’t as perfect as my friends who had braces. Did I have on enough eyeliner? Was my shirt too tight? Did I straighten my hair when actually I should have curled it? Would anyone ever like me if I didn’t fit into a size 00 jeans? 


This aesthetic obsession with my reflection, and subsequent self loathing, lasted well into my 20s, morphing from wondering if my appearance was good enough to even further down the rabbit hole, wondering if my personality, intellect and character were ‘good enough’ also. 


Ironically, I ended up choosing a career in which I stand in front of a mirror all day, every day, and funny enough I rarely actually look at myself. When I began my career as a hairstylist, I was very focused still on outward beauty. I put so much value on external beauty for most of my life, so I felt that it was my calling to bring this feeling of beauty to others. 


Fast forward almost a decade… WOW, have things shifted in my world! I have discovered an entirely different meaning of beauty. Mirrors are all around me. Beautiful, soulful, human mirrors. 


Beauty comes in many shapes and forms… and allowing our inner beauty to be reflected out into the world through our thoughts, words and actions is the ultimate form of self love. 


Could you go an entire day without looking into the mirror? What would happen if you allowed the world around you to reflect your true colors? 

I challenge you to take on this opportunity. 24 hours. No mirrors. Just you, yourself, and the world around you. 


I would LOVE to hear your experience if you choose to take on this challenge. 


Redefine mirrors. Redefine beauty. It all starts with you.

You are a mirror, reflecting a noble face. This universe is not outside of you.

Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you are ALREADY that.

Rumi