Mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of them all? -The Evil Queen from Snow White

I knew this guy that had a habit of checking himself out in mirrors. Well correction- in any shiny surface. Any reflective object was an opportunity to admire his studliness. Any time the TV screen turned black, at the end of a movie, he would say, “Hey Nat look we are on TV!” I would catch him checking out his hair in the reflection made by my sunglasses. He would even check out his car anytime we passed a reflective building. I don’t blame him- he was handsome and he did have a nice car.

Don’t laugh we all do it. I do it every day at work when I pass the pop machine and check myself out. Yeah and I like what I see!!! But this was not always the case. I never use to like what I saw until I met my first true mirror- Katie McClelland.

Katie was my first yoga teacher who held a big, fat, figurative mirror in front of my face and encouraged me to take a closer look. Her mirror revealed my clear reflection. It wasn’t one of those fun house mirrors that are at carnivals that distort your image by making you short and fat. Her mirror made me stand a little taller and prouder every time I looked into it. Her mirror made me fall deeply in love with what I saw for the first time in all my life. Who is this powerful person I was looking at? Who is this girl with a clear, loud voice? Who is this girl capable of so much more than she could have ever imagined? Holy crap that girl is me!

Katie held the mirror and encouraged me to take a closer look at my true self. Well she actually did more than just hold the mirror- she also supplied me with the cloth and windex I needed to polish the surface. She fired up my curiosity and made me search through my closet of inadequacy. She supplied the attic and boxes I needed to dump the crap that was weighing me down. She adjusted the light in my gallery to showcase my greatest masterpieces.

Your teacher can open the door, but you must enter by yourself. –Chinese Proverb

Living Yogically has really been a mirror to many of you reading. I get amazing feedback from people every week. Jessie you come to mind first. You tell me how you can relate to my posts and how you too are experiencing similar things in your life. I cannot take any credit for you recognizing your own greatness and own beauty.

One post that comes to mind that clearly illustrates this point is the little love fest I had about my best friends titled, Baby You’re a Firework. As Anna so intelligently pointed out in her comment, “You are all of the things you named in all our friends wrapped up in one little Natty package.” Anna was able to see that all the amazing parts we recognize in others are just a reflection of who we are.

It really is true. You cannot recognize qualities in others if you don’t have them in yourself. How do you know if a friend is funny if you don’t have a sense of humor yourself to understand their jokes? How do you know if a friend is intelligent if you don’t have the brains to understand their conversations? How did I realize my friend was checking himself out in my sunglasses if I wasn’t trying to do the same thing?

So in my quest to live yogically I will continue to act as a mirror to reveal all the wonderful qualities in those I meet or those that read. I will continue to look into mirrors that don’t distort my reflection. I will continue to even check myself out in pop machines and sunglasses and be proud of what I see. I vow to fall in love with myself each and every day. Whenever I ask my mirror, who is the fairest of them all? I won’t hesitate to yell out my own name. Please do the same.

Let go of your worries and completely clear-hearted, like the face of a mirror that contains no images. If you want a clear, mirror, behold yourself and see the truth. –RUMI

You cannot see your reflection in running water, only still water. –Eat, Pray, Love

Peace, peace, peace

NAT

NEXT WEEK Truth or dare?