One Day Backstage

Photo by Klara Je, 2017

    
Just like Harry Potter when he discovered the Mirror of Erised, which basically stands for 'Desire' inverted, I happened to be lurking behind the scenes of the Gala of Arab Culture Festival that took place last March in Pilsen. 

I remember standing for a considerable amount of time, suddenly the vibrational elements that went about dissolved in silence, and in silence I found the refuge to contemplate amidst all the distractions that should have plagued, only to realize that this has been ignited solely just when I realized that I have been standing, staring at myself!

 Have you ever wondered about something fascinating? More specifically; Mirrors? 

They are fascinating. They are mysterious. And they are fascinating. 

Loads of interpretations have been developed and shared throughout since its innovation up to how we perceive it today. The idea that we actually are looking at ourselves, just the thought of it, for a better or worse, is challenging. 

Coming from an evolutionary type of specie, the notion of our ability to crystal clearly 'see' our reflections is as unfamiliar as a rogue planet. Many animals do not recognize themselves in mirrors, they actually think they are looking at another entity in front of them, few of the animals do however know they are looking at themselves, and that requires a serious conscious development that may or may not be associated to instinct. 

Even with children, the fact that a child starts to accept himself or herself as they truly are, is really delicate and mesmerizing. To stand there, seeing your alternative self and live up to the satisfaction or seeing and 'accepting' what lies ahead; perhaps that person who is actually you is more beautiful than you are, the shape of smile that you think look attractive may disappoint, (oh my God does my smile actually look like that?)...perhaps your reflection exists more than you do, it is real than you might ever come to be. But what if that very version is the one who is commanding the reflection, not you. You have just been lured towards it by disengaging your stimulus of self encounter. Of course, whether was it a pleasant or unpleasant encounter that should kindle an entirely different post.

If we look not at ourselves but at other people, no matter how close to us, we cannot decipher their thinking, the energy in their eyes, we cannot tell their thoughts, the meaning of their grayness. 

But we, when we look at ourselves, we are already imprisoned in our own mind, knowing already everything about ourselves, what we love and what we find interesting, what we fear, what have you...which sometimes suggest that we do not know anything about ourselves either. 

Is there another mind, another stream of thought, another perception of our alternate self, does he see me differently than I do? If I were him, standing at the other side, what would be my reaction? If I switch my position, what will change? Will the change of perception of myself reflect and therefore alter my reality and the realities that surround me, by reflecting back what I project myself to be?

Perhaps thoughts must not be sought for answers, because they are flexible, they can be destructive and confusing. Feelings however, never lie. Mirrors give another dimension to our ability to analyze and understand, I used to think that it gives one dimension to people, mirrors cannot reflect our thinking, our social intellectual level, our intentions, our relationships, and our concerns. I was wrong, mirrors excel and even surpass this primitive 'social and personal conventions'. 

Mirrors, I think, reveal not only the experiences, the appearances, the tone and quality of minds, but the truth. If you happen to see something else in yourself, if you felt something else watching a reflection of someone you know (or you don't know) through mirrors, you are being liberated from the lies that lie and have been implemented in your thinking. 
In other words what you are seeing is the truth, a truth you should accept or reject, the mirror does not ask for you consideration, mirrors solemnly exist to remind people of their truth, not the truth people expect you to adopt, not the truth you adopt, not the truth you were instructed and educated to own, not the supposed truth of a 'status quo'...rather a truth within you, a truth you have not chosen, your truth, yours.