My daughter and I decorated this mirror together the other day. The boys wanted to help too, but they weren't allowed. When they asked, my daughter, unprompted, piped up with, "they're not Goddesses like us, Mummy". Apparently decorating mirrors is women's work.
It's no coincidence she said that though. The mirror has long been associated with the Goddess. Particularly Aphrodite. She was almost always depicted with a mirror in her hand. It was her tool. Her truth-teller. Over the years though, her words were mistaken for vanity, and the mirror became the woman's enemy. Is it any wonder eating disorders are rife among young women these days, when they can't look in the mirror and love and accept themselves for who they truly are? When we are constantly bombarded by pictures of what we 'should' look like, it's very hard to look in the mirror and feel that it's being honest with you. We want to believe that what we are seeing is beautiful, but we're just not sure any more.
I've become better friends with my mirror lately though. We still have our off days when I just can't believe what I see -the lines, the marks and the bags are just way too obvious. Then there are the days when I don't get such a fright. I like the youthfulness I still see in my face. I look fresh. Thankfully the good days are starting to outnumber the not so good days! I feel like I'm really starting to see myself from the inside out. It's a great feeling to look in the mirror and know that you are seeing yourself from your heart-space. To me it comes from really looking in my own eyes. Not at the stray eyebrows that need plucking, or the smudged mascara, but right into them. It's meditative.
We're going to be best friends again soon, my mirror and I. I'm starting to really believe her.
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