The other night I asked my husband to help me cover all of the mirrors in the house. Yesterday was my day without mirrors. It's an experiment myself and other bloggers are taking on this week in support of fellow blogger Kjerstin Gruys' new book, "Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall."
I just finished reading Kjerstin's personal story and the true message is that mirrors are so common to most of us in our daily lives that we don't even realize how often we use them to tell us who we are and how to feel about ourselves.
Much of what she talks about really strikes a chord with me, especially being a woman and working in entertainment and marketing. I noticed Kjerstin's blog about a year ago and she inspired me. I wrote a blog article about her called "The Look In Glass" and emailed it to her. This is how I came to be part of the no mirrors for a day blogger challenge!
On Friday I went the whole day simply trying to avoid mirrors, just to prepare myself for the actual challenge. It worked only half the time, because I forgot the other half! What struck me the most about that day was how many times I caught myself looking in the mirror....it has become such a habit to do it every single time I step into a room with a mirror in my view....I don't know why.
What intrigued me most about Kjerstin's project is that it started as an idea from a moment of self awareness that then turned into a personal growth challenge, which became her blog and then a book. This developed from a genuine realization that even though she is a sociologist and intellectually "knows better," she had been she realized, too preoccupied with her appearance to the point of distraction from productivity and quality of life.
Because Kjerstin is a qualitative sociologist she is able to share both her personal experience going a year without mirrors, along with her insight as an expert. Also, being a survivor of an eating disorder, sharing her story is courageous. Her unique perspective added a dimension to the book for me.
For me, my day without mirrors was more of a welcome break than anything else. Not being confronted with my image every time I went into my bedroom and bathroom was a reprieve from my assessment of my hair, face, body, and whatever else I usually noticed about myself, good or bad. It seemed easier picking out something to wear to run to get groceries, then later for ice cream and an afternoon hike. In fact, I am keeping a few of the extra mirrors covered for awhile.
I remember accidentally catching my image in the door of another car in a parking lot, the ice cream cake cooler door at Dairy Queen, and my laptop monitor. It made me laugh....our reflections are everywhere, whether we want them to be or not!
As Kjerstin noted in her book, when it comes to external beauty there is a point of diminishing returns. I have always been reassured by the fact that I have worked to nurture my mind and health along with my looks.
One of the more compelling points of "Mirror, Mirror Off The Wall," are the results of a study that prove self objectification steals brain power from other tasks.....obsessing about one's looks, clothes, hair, etc. actually drains your brain...good enough reason alone to consider lightening up on mirror time.
That, and maybe it's good to spend less time on our outer reflection, and more on our inner self.
Mirror Mirror Off The Wall....Find it on Amazon
A year without mirrors.....video
About-Face.org....Don't fall for the media circus!
Ayearwithoutmirrors.com
"Mirror Mirror Off The Wall"...Trailer....Vimeo
The "look in" glass
Interesting post. If I think of the people I care about, it's not the outer shell that draws me to them, it is what comes from within.
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