I am staring into the mirror taking inventory of all that is right, all that can be changed and all I must accept. Sometimes when life does not go my way, I look outside of myself. I know that many of us do this without noticing. I also know that many of us do this on a daily basis. It is a downward spiral. Most times when I am feeling like the world is on my shoulders I try to look inward. However, that takes work, and as that Whitney Houston song goes, “it’s not right, but it’s OK.” It is perfectly fine to not be strong sometimes. This is something I need to constantly remind myself. But every time I break, I learn something new about myself and the human experience.
When we are not feeling so strong, the easiest thing is to look outwards for a solution. It is easy to find a beauty tip, a new product to purchase or a new workout routine to make us feel as if we are doing something towards our happiness. If we feel that we are doing something towards that happiness, then we are no longer the ones to blame for our unhappiness.
There was a period in my life where if I ever felt down, my local pharmacy could make me feel better. No, I never bought any pills. It was just being there that eased my pain. It was being in a place where you could purchase anything from sweets, pills, magazines or beauty products that made me feel safe. It was the illusion of safety. It is the reason why most of us shop when we are feeling down. Consumer therapy is the outcome of our inability to look inward. We want to feel like there are clear cut solutions to our problems and we want to feel like these solutions are readily available. If a shampoo does not make us happy we have hundreds of brands to choose from and hundreds of hours for us to distract ourselves from what is really bothering us. For some time, Duane Reade was my blanket. Although I mostly just wandered its aisles, the feeling of security was priceless.
Now, when I begin to look in the mirror at times of weakness and begin to compare, I remind myself that I am my own blanket. Regardless of how much better or worse I may look than whoever I choose to compare myself to on that day, there is something special that can never be duplicated or taken away from me. It is the core of who I am. It is my soul. Everyone has one of course, but during the times when I used to wander the aisles of Duane Reade, my soul was not my strong point. Your character should be able to transcend everything else about you. Your character should be able to transcend what you look like, who you know and what you know. Your core is the one thing that cannot be created or destroyed by anyone but yourself.
Knowing how much power we have over ourselves is what scares us into looking outwards when we should be looking in. This means that there are no excuses or quick fixes. This means that there is no way out. I am working on the comparisons, but in today’s world of media where everyone is a commodity, I find this to be the most difficult. Every time I look in, I find something new that I must fix. It is terrifying and exciting, but mostly it is rewarding.
Next time I stare into a mirror in my times of weakness, I will do it with my eyes closed.
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I love this so much. The ending was fantastic.
Thank you for reading Jen! I am still working on myself, it is great to be able to reach people who are able to understand. 🙂
Love your outlook…and “in”look! Yes we are all a work in progress and I love to connect with people who are willing to do the work! Thanks for stopping by my blog…hope you find something that speaks to you! Blessitude!
Thank you Lorrie! Life is all about constant growth. I am glad that you got the message clearly. You are also in tune with yourself. It’s always great to see.
🙂 Have a super weekend!
You as well Lorrie! 🙂
Reblogged this on Crystal's and commented:
The next time you look in the mirror, tell yourself that you are beautiful just the way you are.
Thank you for sharing my post! It’s amazing to be able to relate to others through my personal experiences.
It’s my pleasure! Have a good day and may God bless you! 🙂
great piece but have you ever thought to seek out Jesus when you are feel ling low?And you have no place else to go? try it ! it will be rewarding your soul! thanks for sharing! loved it!
Thank you Cindy! I grew up in an extremely religious family. I found that at times when I had to look to myself for answers I was unable to. There must be a balance between religion and the self. However, it is up to each individual to find what that balance is. I can tell that yours is Jesus and that is amazing to hear that you have that love in your heart.
love the picture! looks so carefree! we all just need to know where to look for our happiness!
Thank you Cindy! Very true. It’s up to us to find that happiness.
love this introspective, so true post! i love seeing stuff like this out there for people to see & absorb & digest if it seems in alignment with them b/c i believe it’s one of the biggest great advice pieces for our consumer/comparison culture ~ getting back to our souls. yes! much love, wren
Thank you soo much Wren! It is something that bothers me to see how this culture seems to be extremely obsessed with numbers and comparison.