Face to Face
with our most honest companion
Hi Sparkle,
I make lots of decisions based on how I look in a mirror, because what I see there doesn’t just reflect my appearance - it reflects my state. It tells me where I am inside.
A mirror is usually placed in a bathroom, a private place away from the outside world’s performances - where I have no audience to please, no role to play. The glass has no agenda. It doesn’t flatter, it doesn’t edit - it simply reflects.
The truth would stare back at me, unembellished and undeniable.
If I catch myself smiling - without having thought about it - I know I’m standing in a rare, sweet moment of alignment. It’s a great feeling seeing myself glow. That’s the feeling I wish I could always wake up to.
On other mornings, I notice my eyes lost their shine - dulled by a weight I’ve been carrying but would rather try to ignore or deny. My reflection seems to ask: “Are you going to deal with this, or will you carry it another day? Will you keep looking like this another day?“ It’s an uncomfortable conversation, but an honest one. That dullness in my eyes is my gives me signal: something needs to be fixed.
There were days I could barely meet my own eyes in the mirror - mornings when my gaze would slide away instantly, as if looking too closely might expose something I wasn’t ready to confront. The reflection would feel both familiar and foreign - features twisted by accumulation of moments when I ignored my own needs, silenced my own voice, and made choices I wasn’t proud of.
When I stand before a mirror, I see evidence of how I’ve been living. I see the ways I’ve cared for myself, and the ways I’ve neglected myself. I see my resilience and my weariness, my joy and my ache.
Sparkle - in that honesty, there’s also an invitation - to notice, to adjust, to forgive, to try again. Whether the face looking back is radiant with joy, shadowed by worry, or somewhere in between, we choose what to do about it.
We can meet our reflection with avoidance, or to meet it with intention - and decide what reflection we’ll see in the days to come.
Our goal - is to love what we see :)
Post updates:
With love,
Danacea
What a great goal. Looking in the mirror to see beyond the surface, to love what we see.
Thanks for writing this.