reflecting on a reflection
Something interesting has happened over the last few weeks. I have been looking at myself in the mirror for a few minutes, almost every day, and I have started to see someone else.
This is somewhat challenging to explain. But it is as though I have begun to feel comfortable with this person who stares back at me, and we have previously unknown level of familiarity.
She looks me in the eye. And her eyes are softer and a little more accepting of what she sees when she sees me.
And when I look at her, I pause to really look. I don’t just look up quickly and move on. I take time and honor who she is, even if only for a moment. This happens when I brush my teeth or wash my hands and look up into the mirror or when I unexpectedly spot my reflection somewhere. I pause and honor this person who stares back at me.
And she looks different.
Sometimes you see people only in pictures and then when you see them in person, they look different. Not bad or better, just different. They become alive for you. Maybe you have seen pictures of a friend’s sibling and then when you meet him, he looks similar but now he is moving and breathing and laughing. You see beyond one millisecond in time.
This is how I feel when I look in the mirror.
I kind of love it. I feel like I am meeting myself for the first time. Seeing beyond a frozen sense of self and into the deep, wide places of who I really am. And it isn’t scary or someplace I do not want to go. It is just me.
If you have been looking in the mirror during the last few weeks, what are you seeing? An old friend? A new one? New layers of who you thought you were? Confirmation of who you always knew you could be?
And if you aren't taking part in this meditation, I invite you to get up, walk over to a mirror, and look for a moment. What do you see? Who do you see?
mirror meditation in breathe.
Reader Comments (10)
what a wicked post. i hope the woman you see behind the eyes is welcome!
everytime i peel another layer off myself and turn to meet the woman in the mirror, i see many things, some of which are; laughter, wickedness, love, compassion, forgiveness, playfulness, a crazy fun streak.....
welcome to finding her, i hope you get to know each other better. reading your post has really touched my heart.
yes i know what you're saying. it's been an amazing journey, something that's become a habit, a way of being, something that will continue even after the 2 months are complete.
I like what I see in the mirror now but for far too long I didn´t.
I haven't been doing the mirror meditation, but even before you invited me (the reader) to get up and go look in the mirror for a minute, I decided I would...so by the time I got to the end of this post I was already smiling...and when I got to the mirror that smile was still on my face. It was a quiet, soft, from-the-inside sort of smile. And I saw someone with glazy eyes because she's tired from the day's work and still a little bit sick...but I also saw someone that's a little bit softer on the edges than she used to be...someone that has the impulse to live from her heart, someone who would like to walk up to a friend or a co-worker or just anyone and give them a great big warm comforting hug. i saw the me that is able to be sensitive and capable of love.
and (here i go smiling again :))...i must admit, that even though my reflection looks tired and my eyeliner is a bit smudged...i think the woman (who is really just a girl inside) looks like someone i could be friends with.
thanks liz. i'm sending one of those hugs to you.
:)
I haven't been doing the meditation, but have been following along with everyone else. I've realized during these past weeks that I really have so little knowledge of what I look like. Oh, I recognize myself in the mirror, but don't truly look. It's a little disconcerting.
Just so you know you ate one of my favorite people and I am so glad to see you embracing all the wonder and beauty of who you are! I did mirror meditation twice thus far, not ready to write about it yet, but I was taken aback by what came up. Such an important and wonderful idea and so glad you are encouraging others to join you on this path.
Oops! I meant to type "aRe," not "ate!" (But if you did eat one of my favorite people, I hope they were tasty and let me know exactly who it was!)
I am so much softer with myself since I started the meditation.
I look in the mirror and I accept what I see, as I would with any other person I meet. I do not start straightening up this person's hair or smoothing out an eyebrow - I look, accept and then see.
I am learning that there is a time for grooming and sometimes I just have to let myself be :-)
(Oh and I just fell about laughing at Alexandra's comment. Who did you eat?!!! ;-))
We got pictures back from summer trips and I was like "THAT'S what I look like? I THOUGHT I looked good that day. Aaack."
Even though I kept trying (until those pictures came back), I never was able to really hold eyecontact during my mirror reflections. In my head I see a woman, but she's not in the mirror.
And it has nothing to do with gray hair or peri-menopausal pimples (which are everywhere today it seems!) it seems that, no matter what I do, I look sad, even when I'm happy.
So this is what I'm working on ... looking more how I FEEL ... which is good!
Love to you ...
oh i LOVE this for you!
i know...isn't she just lovely (you)?