About Mirrors

     I was talking with my very dear friend about bodies and perception. We discussed the odd phenomenon girls (and many boys) go through where others look at them and see a lovely, desirable, perfectly normal person, but when you look at yourself, you have a whole different list of adjectives come to mind: "fat. pale. uneven. undesirable. too tall. too short. crooked. imperfect." Sadly, the negative list we make about ourselves is somehow always longer than the positive list we make about ourselves, or that we make from comments from others.
     I'm very guilty of this. It breaks my heart, because I know that people look at me and want me to have the same self confidence that I want for my sisters and friends. But yet I don't. I still tear myself apart in the mirror.

     I found this quote:

"If you are discouraged about your appearance, it will help to see yourself through the eyes of those who love you. Hidden beauty seen by loved ones can become a mirror for self-improvements. This phenomenon of the person internalizing the expectations of others with subsequent positive change has become known as the Pygmalion effect, after the famous play in which the “guttersnipe,” Eliza Dolittle, becomes the refined My Fair Lady. The beauty was always there; Eliza only needed help from others to discover it.

Our Father in Heaven provides the perfect example of this principle. He sees our divine nature. We are His children. The way He sees us, because of His love for us, is perfect. The mirror which He holds constantly before us, if we will only raise our sight to look, is the one in which we should trust. Its image is always true and never distorted. He reminds us, as He did Moses, “Thou art my son [or daughter]” (Moses 1:4)." (complete talk here)

So I'm going to use different mirrors. I'm going to use my mom, my sisters, my best friends, those who look to me for an example, those whom I admire, those who love me, as my mirrors. Most importantly, I'm going to use God as my mirror, and see what He reflects back at me. It cannot be anything short of beautiful, I'm sure.

And if you are discouraged and need a different image, I would be honored to be your mirror.