The Ten Pound Mirror

We have a ten pound mirror. It’s not that it weighs ten pounds. It’s a floor length mirror surrounded by engraved industrial wood. It’s a work of art, really. But that’s not why it’s special. It’s special because it’s a ten pound mirror.

There is something wrong with the optics. You walk by it, and then you come back and look at yourself again, and you look good, really good. Not totally different, just a little bit better than the real you. About ten pounds better.

We tend to be so hard on ourselves physically. Maybe we need more ten pound mirrors — a way to be gentler with ourselves, less critical of how we look. More self-acceptance, not because we are perfect, but because imperfection is OK. Maybe we all need our optics to be a little bit off.

But perhaps I am looking at this too narrowly. A ten pound mirror doesn’t need to be a “thing.’ Perhaps a ten pound mirror can also be a person — someone who helps us see ourselves a little bit better than we really are. It could be a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a friend, a child… someone who sees in us things we don’t see ourselves, someone who sees us as the person we wish we were. And because of what they reflect back to us, we see ourselves as a little bit better as well.

I know I’ve had people in my life who were ten pound mirrors for me, and I am so very grateful. I wonder if I…