Stone
Faces in the Mirror |
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Life has a humorous way of making you face yourself. Behind closed doors, in chat rooms or on social media we can be whatever and whomever we chose to portray. I wonder why that task is so hard when we're face to face or just being out in the real world. The masks, pretends and acts are overwhelming and at times, alarming. Has society become so critically trendy that it bullies people into being the opposite of who they truly are or desire to be? I admit there are times when I too hide behind the usual confident woman I am and become a "cookie cutter" pawn for societal norms. While I think it's important to have style, tact, decorum and traditions, I also applaud different, original, abstract and creative. The world has become so engrossed with superficial standards and expectations that most people have blindly accepted obtaining them "by any means necessary" in their day to day life. Sometimes when I look into my mirror, I am saddened by the image staring back at me. All the time I wasted valuing the opinion of mean girls, magazine columns, shallow guys and society induced trends. While I may not fit the world's definition of successful, pretty, flawless or acceptable, I am secure in my skin, comfortable with my resources, originally flawed and uniquely skilled. During my early years, when I valued being "accepted" I had many faces and was often unhappy, unsettled and conflicted. Not thin enough, tooth-pick weight, too light, lack of higher learning degree, teen mother, children out of wedlock, divorcee, dependent on a man, too independent, too passive, too aggressive, people pleaser, love seeker, lust provider, fatherless female, absent mother, manipulative only child and spineless wife were a few of the faces that would often stare back at me from the mirror. The faces in my mirror were stealing my joy, laughter and life. I merely existed for many years but after careful consideration and acknowledging the one face you can't escape, I began to live again. The face that eventually shows you all the other faces, forces you to ponder what was, what is and what will be in your life. There is no time frame when "the face yourself" will rear its head however I think when you sink to the lowest point in life, it will show you how weak those reflections taunting, haunting and depriving you from living truly are in your life. The faces I wear now are courage, strength, boldness, giver, wisdom, adventurous, comforter, compassion, classy, respectful, teacher, leader, learner, follower, writer, lover, thrill seeker, believer and motivational speaker. Those faces still require encouragement and will power. Every day my motivation is to love, respect and admire the faces staring back at me. No longer will I allow society, trends, other people standards nor unrealistic worldly expectations to choose the face I wear out in public nor behind closed doors. In my mirror, I see a face filled with potential, positivity, sometimes pain but most times a face that produces smiles, incites love and evokes laughter. This face provides hope, protection and confidence to me as well as to others. I no longer gaze into the mirror and see the faces of physical judgment, negative unwarranted criticism, societal "Simon says" or fashion "Be like Betty." The face in my mirror only knows the following directions in life and those are "up, forward and around."
© Copyright 2015, Stone |
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