I was going through some advertising material that I had spun up a few months back for my novel and stumbled across an interesting topic that focused on our mirror reflections.
In my novel, there is a character named Jeffrey, who had recently discovered a mirror for the first time. Jeffrey seeing himself for the first time with visual acuity introduced himself to an unknown entity. He was so enamored with what he saw in the mirror that it caused him to question if there was another world “in there.”
A person he was traveling with answered his question:
“No, no, it’s just our reflection, no witchery, I assure you. There are no thoughts or life behind the eyes staring back at you. We are the reality.”
To which Jeffrey replied:
“I suppose you’re right. One’s mirror reflection can’t carry the weight, hopes, and aspirations of that individual. It is just a shallow copy of the physical being. It is soulless and lifeless. With every blink of the eyes, it ages with us, irrevocably, accepting the inevitable, just as we do.”
The words that he spoke are true when you think about it. The weight of decisions, aspirations, etc., are all placed on us, the physical being. Meanwhile, our mirror image looks back at us with great obedience, ignorant to the stresses of the world.
Another character named Sebastian also had an interesting quote about mirror reflections.
“The mirror reflection of man is its true self, good or evil. The only image as good or evil as itself is the true reflection.”
I felt this was an interesting nugget because it also rings true. When you stare at yourself in the mirror, it doesn’t matter if you are good or evil; it is your mirror image, your true reflection.
Nowadays, people look in the mirror almost every day, but why? Is it for reassurance that they still exist? Is it for validation that they recognize the person staring back at them?
I personally look in the mirror to see if any of my hair has decided to grow back, still waiting. ::::sigh::::
Travis J. McRoy 