Every morning most of us are faced with the image of ourselves staring back from a mirror. Maybe it is as you brush your teeth, or walk past a hallway decoration, or as you check your appearance in a floorlength mirror in your room. What do you see? Many a day goes by that I will discover that at no point did I consciously look into the mirror. I mean, I checked my teeth. I made sure my makeup was applied evenly. I looked to see that the callick was behaving on the crown of my head. Yet, I never look at myself as a whole anymore. Why? Because all I see are the flaws.

Mirror’s have a way of emphasizing that which we don’t want to see: those gray hairs creeping in, those wrinkles etching their way on your skin, the discoloration that pops up out of nowhere. Each mark reminds me that I am not the person on the outside that I feel like on the inside. On the inside, I haven’t changed from the young high school girl that is constantly dreaming and planning. 

The reflection makes me wonder what other people see when they look at me. I am absolutely sure it is those flaws that stand out first and foremost, right? The reality is not even close. In fact, those things are often never seen by anyone other than yourself. People see the person you are which then shapes your physical appearance. How you behave is more important than how you look.

This may seem like an obvious statement, yet it is one that we need reminded of. We live in a world in which a person’s value is measured by a person’s wealth. Money does not buy kindness. Money does not buy friendship. Money does not buy love. These are things that come back to a person that first demonstrates these qualities to others. Can you look in your mirror at the end of each day and ask yourself: was I kind today, was I a friend to someone today, did I show love to another today, And answer positively?

Ernest Holmes said, “Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it.” I know what type of person I want to be. If I have to look in the mirror every day to remind myself, I will.