Mirrors
Narcissus
was not dissatisfied
with his reflection.
He had no mirrors
no magazines
no Kodak moments
no TV's or movies
to use as measures.
Only
myths and gods
with tragic flaws
describing the standard
of beauty
of character
of duty and devotion
of sacrifice and adulation
for sources of inspiration.
Modern
man, too, has myths,
the ones that say,
"You do not measure up."
In today's world even Narcissus
would be plagued
by self-doubt
by self-criticism
by longings unfulfilled.
Today's
Narcissus
searches for his reflection
in daily rituals before mirrors
trying to create through symbols
in catalogue collages
who he feels he really is
projecting to the world
the myth of his reality.
Take
away the mirrors,
the reflecting windows of shops
and the self will be sought
in the mirrors of the eyes
of all we contact.
Through our relationships
our obsession
with form may diminish.
In
a world without mirrors
we become happy or sad
optimistic or pessimistic
confident or timid
by how others
respond to us.
We have the power
to create our reflections.
Our
self-image
is not a shell
decorated
like an Easter egg
but the life inside
seeking to break out,
our attitude
not the form we make up.
We
do not exist
as a reflection
in a stagnant pool
or in a fragile glass
separate from others.
We find our true image
in the gestures and glances
of the people in our life.
Our
daily routine
defines us.
The way we are treated
is the book of our mythology.
Our story is intricately entwined
with the stories of others.
Our image is our authorship
in the stories of others.
Seeing
ourselves
in others' stories,
in the streets of our
wanderings,
in our impact on
their happiness,
we find the clues
to our identity.
We
face the mirrors with prejudice,
our symbols with doubt,
seeing in our reflection
a stranger of whom
we may not approve
imitating a myth
with which
we never quite measure up.
In
others' stories
we still may be
a character of whom
we do not approve,
but we may alter our image
and change the outcome
by the power
to create our self.
Freedom
from reflections
is not to be attached
to the symbolism of the form.
In a world with no mirrors
we cannot love our self
if we do not see a self
that we love reflected back
in the faces and actions of others.
The
trap Narcissus laid
was that he fell in love
with his own reflection
and forgetting his duties
to the gods
he lost the inner power
to make his life a beauty
for others.
©
2001 Richard Sidy
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