MIRROR MIRROR!!!

 " What do you mean, Philb? " Asked Ms Squeers, looking in her own little glass, where, like most of us, she saw- not herself, but the reflection of some pleasant image in her own brain." ... Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby.


Long before the glass mirrors were first produced in Egypt, Gaul, Germany and Asia during the third century A.D., people first started looking at their reflections in pools of water, streams and rivers which were the first mirrors.
The earliest Man-made mirrors were polished stones and mirrors made from black volcanic glass Obsidian.


"Let us be grateful to the mirror for revealing to us our appearance only"...Samuel Butler.

 Some samples of this kind of mirror has been found in Turkey dating back 6000 years.
The invention of glass blowing method during the 14th century led to the discovery of convex mirrors, which increased the popularity of glass mirrors.
Justus Von Liebig, a German chemist, created the first modern glass-silver glass mirror in 1835.

Many do not know that the concept of the soul is usually associated with mirrors, which result in a wealth of superstition surrounding mirrors.  
For instance, an old Roman legend promotes the belief that breaking a mirror causes seven years of bad luck, and according to other superstitions, mirrors are to be covered when someone dies because mirrors can trap the soul of the departed.

"When water is like a mirror, it can behold the moon"...Rumi.

Enough said of the history and all the scary part, the point is mirrors are whether you like it or not, a big time component in our lives either it takes the shape of calm water or silver coated glass, it's just that you need to crash all the mirrors available before the women can actually realize it's significance and appreciate it's existence.

The biggest music legend, Michael Jackson of blessed memory sang a colossal hit single "Man in the Mirror" which literally talks about you being the change that is imperative to make the world a much better place.
We are the change we desire and unconsciously complain about constantly.

"When man created the mirror, he began to lose his soul. He became so concerned with his image than with himself"...Stephen R. Covey.

The mirror also played an amazing role that easily and pleasantly comes to memory in the classic Walt Disney blockbuster cartoon "Snow White and the seven dwarfs" where Snow White's wicked step-mother consulted a mirror several times to check who the fairest in the land was, as she was obsessed and bewildered by her own banal and physical beauty, hence the title "Mirror Mirror".

"Mirror Mirror! in my hand, who is the fairest in the land?, My Queen you are the fairest here so true, but Snow White is a thousand times fairer than you"...Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.


When most of us look into the mirror or at our picture, we do not feel the satisfaction we crave, perhaps except we garnish our faces with make-up, wear expensive apparels or pose in beautiful locations and with celebrities.
 Hmm, i guess we fail to realize that we do not need to look for any other type of beauty or superficial bewilderment so long we seek to beautify our minds, and that of others.

"Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations"...Earl Nightingale. 

Meet Helen Keller.
An American Educator who overcame the adversity of being blind and deaf to become one of the twentieth century humanitarians, as well as the co-founder of ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), a nonpartisan non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in (this) country by the constitution and laws (of the United States).

"The most important day i remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher Anne Mansfield Sullivan  came to me, i am filled with wonder when i consider the immeasurable contrast between the two lives which it connects"...Helen Keller.

Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Alabama, when she was nineteen months old, she was afflicted by an unknown illness, possibly scarlet fever or meningitis, which left her deaf and blind.

She never had a need arise for her to look in the mirror, or see through her physical eyes to make an impact on her life and of those around her, but something incredible happened that changed her life and also of those who have and will encounter her, forever.

She later in her life met someone i would describe as an angel, in person of Anne Sullivan whom she beautifully described above.
Anne, a selfless Irish-American teacher best known for being the instructor and companion of Helen Keller.

"The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secret of the heart"...St. Jerome.

Anne summoned courage to bring out the very best out of a miserable, deaf and blind beautiful girl that had no specific direction.

Exploring and discovering her ability and amazingly beautiful and intelligent personalty through the intense and sincere connection of hers, bringing out the best she possibly could in her to the bewilderment of humanity and also to unleash unto mankind an explosive miracle and eternal inspiration.

With she herself becoming a splendid mirror to the world, through her magnificent quotes that have helped shape mankind.
What is your story?

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched , they must be felt with the heart"...Helen Keller.

So, what do you see when you look into the mirror, from your point of view or rather, what are you helping others look at, or better yet, see in the mirror?

Thank you.

Akin Abimbola (akinzogee@gmail.com)


SOURCES: Google
                   Goodreads
                   Mirror History
                   Mirror Quotes
                   Brainy Quotes
                   Wikipedia
                   Perkins