No mirrors
I've often thought what a wonderful thing it would be if we didn't have mirrors. We wouldn't know wrinkles. There would not be plastic surgeons. The make-up industry would go down the tubes. Hairdressers and haut couture would lose their footing. There might be an end to vanity!
Of course, even if there were not mirrors, there would be lakes.
You remember the Greek myth about handsome Narcissus. Everyone fell in love with him, and he fell in love with no one. He broke hearts. He broke Echo's heart:
Here's a very abridged story of Echo and Narcissus:
The Goddess Hera punished Echo by taking away her voice except for the repetition of another's words. All Echo could do was repeat the voice of another.
One day when Narcissus was out hunting stags, Echo stealthily followed the handsome youth through the woods, longing to address him but unable to speak first. When Narcissus finally heard footsteps and shouted "Who's there?", Echo answered "Who's there?" And so it went, until finally Echo showed herself and rushed to embrace the lovely youth.
He pulled away from the nymph and told her to go away. Heartbroken, Echo spent the rest of her life in lonely glens, pining away for the love she never knew, until all that was left of her was her voice.
Narcissus, who never knew what it was to fall in love, came upon a clear spring at Donacon in Thespia and, as he bent low to take a drink, caught sight of himself reflected in the pool. For hours he sat enraptured by his reflection in the water, and finally recognized that it was himself he had fallen in love with! Try as he might to touch this exquisite person in the waters, he could never reach him. His true love was lost to him. He called out a last goodbye to the image of himself he saw in the spring, and he turned into the flower that we know by his name, Narcissus.
Looking into the mirror of the spring was fatal to Narcissus.
We know that too in the fairy tale how the wicked stepmother looked into her mirror every day and could see that she was the fairest of all until one time she looked into her mirror and was no longer the fairest of all.
When it comes to vanity, there is no winning.
Is vanity not the same as ego?
Comments
As GODs children we are all perfect so what is the use of vanity or ego.????? Jack
Jack, you are profound.
Gloria, growing up with the paternal side of my family Mennonites (although not the old order), I learned that there are different sects, one does not believe in power and has no motorized vehicles or mirrors, or any chrome or reflective material, as they believe it is vain to look at yourself. The next does have power and cars, however they paint their chrome black, and again, do not have mirrors. The sect that we were, had everything - including many of the troubles most of our society deals with.
Makes you wonder. I used to want to run away as a child to one of the farms we went to get eggs and maple syrup.
Where there was no vanity or ego. Simply pure hearts, believing, as Jack said that we are all GOD'S children.
Very beautiful thoughtful post, Lynda. No mirrors made a difference. It's true.
I love when we go out camping into the wilderness and forget about mirrors.