I’ve come to the conclusion that mirrors are like refrigerators. And what brought me to this conclusion? Well, you know how in a state of emotional (i.e. boredom) eating, you’ll wander to the refrigerator and open the door. You stand there and you look, taking stock of everything that’s there. You don’t see anything that appeals to you. You open the freezer. Same process, take stock, nothing appetizing enough to pull out and prepare to eat. Consequently you close the doors and walk away. Oh, but you’re not done yet! Ten minutes later you find yourself at the same place, doing the same thing, seeing the same food (no, nothing new has magically appeared), and usually with the same outcome of walking away. And you might do it once, twice, three times more! Either you’ll eventually a) give in and grab something to eat that doesn’t really satisfy or cure the craving to fill some void your feeling, or b) finally give up as you’ve found something to occupy your thoughts.
And so how is a mirror like this? For me, this is what I realized today. I walk past a mirror (or some other reflective surface like all the marble here at my workplace). I glance at myself. I see parts of me that I take stock of, parts that I don’t particularly like, and sometimes parts I do like even. And I walk away. Now, this process is a bit more drawn out sometimes than the 10 minute interval of food perusing. However, I notice this tendency most when I’m on a break and walking laps around the building. I purposely look at my reflection, almost every time I pass a certain location. It’s like looking in the refrigerator, you see the same exact unappealing food as last time, and nothing has changed. Why do I look at my reflection every time I pass, and why day after day? Unlike a refrigerator where food does change, a body does not change overnight, or in a week, or even in a month. Not enough to notice in a reflection seen every couple minutes. So, why do I look? Just like breaking yourself of looking in the refrigerator every 10 minutes, I need to make a conscious effort to just. stop. looking. LOL
