Mirror Mirror on the Wall

I just wanted to start by saying that I really loved the reading that we did over the weekend, in particular the story about Narcissus. It was, I think, tragically humorous. Setting that humor aside though, its message was loud and clear. When he got so absorbed in his own reflection in the water, I couldn't help but think about the book/movie Divergent. For those of you who may not know the story – without spoiling it –Beatrice Prior lives in dystopian Chicago, where all the people are divided up into five factions based on their nature: Dauntless, Amity, Erudite, Abnegation, and Candor. Beatrice was born into Abnegation, and they are a people who are known for being selfless. One of their selfless rules is that they are only allowed to look in the mirror the second day of every third month, for only a few moments.

Beatrice looking at herself momentarily.

 When I first read the book, I remember thinking, “what...? Isn’t that a little, oh I don’t know, overkill?” Of course, it’s only a story, but stepping back it says a lot about the human soul and society today. It raises the question, “what is so important about looking in the mirror and seeing yourself?” I will be the first person to admit it - almost undoubtedly, I look into a mirror whenever I pass one, or I’ll go out of my way to look before I leave my room. The thing is, what is this really doing? Why do I feel the need to look at myself before someone else sees me? I think the answer lies in that our priorities as a whole have shifted. Everything we do is based on an image we are trying to maintain. Would my day really change that much if I brushed my hair without the affirmation of seeing myself? Do I really need to brush my hair that I brushed just twenty minutes ago? The action of brushing my hair doesn’t change who I am as a person, but it may change people’s perceptions of me if I do or don’t, and I think that’s really sad.

The point is people, it doesn’t really matter what your hair looks like, because someday it’s gonna fall out anyways! Why waste so much time worrying about that when we could be focused on something that will help us to grow intellectually and with our relationship with God? After all, what else will you have when your hair falls out? The beauty of the world surrounds us and it's our job to look at it; you don't have to even search it out because it's right there, like one of those it's-so-obvious-that-it's-hard-to-see kind of things. I think a majority of the world today is looking in the wrong place for beauty, let alone looking for beauty in a way that glorifies the Lord. I would challenge everyone, including myself, to target a way that we are like Narcissus and try to eliminate that from our lives. The hard part in that is that they've often become such a mundane habit that it feels like a burden to stop, but when you think about it, is the habit really benefiting you or is it the burden itself?