Mirror, Mirror

“When my grandpa would see me he would say, ‘Megan, where’s your curly hair!  I love your curly hair!” - Megan

Mirror, Mirror

I looked in my mirror over and over again for about a full week and when I did, the first thought that came to my mind was, “you need a hair cut!”  I’ve tried lots of ways to keep to a good schedule for keeping what’s left of my hair trimmed up on a regular basis, but nothing has worked very well so far.  Thank goodness for a good mirror.  Sometimes it’s the only thing that allows me to see what I’ve become.  I took one last look and then turned my mind to the day ahead.  I realized that I had a couple of meetings very close to the barbershop I usually go to, so I vowed to take the time to drop in and make myself look a little more presentable; better in my mirror.

When I finished the two meetings on my early schedule I drove the two blocks to the barbershop and walked in.  I was greeted by a young woman with a smiling face and long, curly brown hair.  Her name is Megan.  She invited me to sit in her chair and then she began to talk with me about what I wanted to have done.  It just goes to show that there are people who are a great deal more creative than I am because I can’t imagine taking time to think about how to make my hair a lot different than it is.  I replied to her question with my simple, reliable answer, “Just trim it up so it looks as good as it can.” I said. (The whole time thinking that since at least 25% of my hair is plucked away to the wind that I should be getting a discount for the lessened work involved.  Silly notion!  I should be paying her 25% more because she has to work so hard at making my depleting mop look great.)  “Enough thought about such a depressing notion!  I should change the subject to something more pleasing,” I said to myself.
I looked in the big mirror in front of me and saw Megan’s long wavy hair and said, “Does your hair naturally curl that way?”

“Yes.” She said. 

“I love naturally curly hair.” I responded.

“I love it now,” she said.  “When I was younger, and didn’t know how to style it I really hated it.  I learned to straighten it and then spent all my time working to make it straight.  When my grandpa would see me he would say, ‘Megan, where’s your curly hair!  I love your curly hair! When I was a boy we always drew evil witches with straight hair!’ Then he would get out his pencil and show me how he had drawn witches with straight black hair as a boy.”

She took a quick glance through the mirror and looked straight into my eyes.  I looked back and searched her eyes for the meaning expressed, beyond her words.  What I saw there is so important!

Her grandpa was telling her over and over again that he loved her for who she naturally was.  He knew that if she rejected her true self that she would eventually become dark inside and then unattractive on the outside as her belief would escape her skin to be revealed to everyone.  She felt the love in his words and even though he is not with her any more, her undying memory of his love will always brighten her heart.  His effect on her life is immeasurable.

You can have the same immeasurable effect on people around you!  When you see someone who has not accepted something beautiful about themselves, take a moment to express your admiration for their beauty, intelligence, talent or whatever you see that they’re not seeing at that moment.  Sometimes our mirrors don’t reflect ourselves as “the fairest of them all!”  That’s when you can become a “mirror, mirror” to show a different reflection; a brighter, clearer expression that they’ll always remember and treasure deep within their heart.