In the Eye of the Beholder
Happy laughters are heard from Adam’s room. The 2-year old boy has found his mother’s mirror and is playing around with his own face. He sticks his tongue out, stares as a madman, and blows his cheeks up like a toad. His creative ability surprises and entertains him.
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Brigitte has applied primer, concealer, foundation, and bronzer to her 16-year old face, but still isn’t happy. With a lipstick in her hand, she lets out a desperate sigh, “I wish I had lips like Angelina Jolie.” A few minutes later, while working with an eye-liner pencil, she groans, “Why can’t I have eyes like Penelope Cruz?”
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As he gets up from the chest press machine, Peter glances at the gym’s mirror-covered wall. His arms, shoulders, and abdomen have changed a lot since he started working out four years ago. As he turns his head, he sees a couple of younger bodybuilders, with substantially bigger muscles. “I should have started earlier,” he grumbles. “26 was too late. At this age, it’s difficult to get a perfect body. Maybe I should try steroids?”
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Turning from side to side, Patricia is examining her image in a floor-to-ceiling mirror. A few minutes ago, her bathroom scale disappointed her, and now, it appears that her old mirror-friend has become a traitor. “Am I getting fat?” she worries. “How do I look from behind? Should I go on a diet? Gosh, I’m over 50! My daughter is 21! In a few years, I could be a grandmother! Do I look like a grandmother?”
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On the way out from his bathroom, 83-year old Christopher catches his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He stops and leans forward. Looking past a plethora of wrinkles, he focuses on his eyes. A thought enters his mind, and smilingly he goes to his wife. “Honey,” he says, “they say that the eyes are the windows of the soul. Let me take a peak behind your curtains.” Their eyes meet, and he continues, “I think it’s true! Souls don’t age and your eyes look as beautiful as the day we met!”
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleSo many people look in the mirror and are deeply disappointed by what they see. So glad that the elderly gentleman at least finds beauty in his wife.
Yes, Margareta, most of us are very self-critical, also when it comes to our looks. Maybe we have something to learn from small children and seniors, who laugh and smile at their own looks. Thank you for commenting.
I love this story, Christer. In the last year or so of my Dad’s life, he and I would send each other pictures we liked from the Internet. Our absolute favorites were babies and toddlers joyfully playing with their reflections, exactly as you described Adam. For a moment, your story brought my Dad back to me. Like Margarida, I’m so glad that Christopher found beauty in his aged wife. He was, in… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI’m glad if I could recall good moments with your dad, Julie. As for the old man Christopher, there is a lot of tips out there about how to make your eyes look younger, but they are all about the skin around the eyes. Christopher looks beyond all that into the eyes themselves of his wife. His theory is that eyes are always beautiful and that it’s possible to see that beauty,… Read more »
Great story, Christer, that perfectly reflects (see what I did there 😜) how each person beholds their own reflection. Lets hope we all maintain the innocence of young Adam or the wiseness of Christopher as we look at our own reflections.
Yes, Carrie, wouldn’t it be nice if we could look at ourselves with a laughter or a smile, like Adam and Christopher. Like in the examples of the story, we tend to be very self-critical and self-conscious when it comes to our faces and bodies. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI love how your 2-year-old cares not a jot how he looks, Christer, just having fun with his expressions. How sad but true that as we age, our looks become so important that we torment ourselves over them. Until, as with your 83-year-old, we learn to appreciate what really matters. A really lovely story, well told.
Thank you very much, Linda, for your generous comment. And let’s try to remember not to be too serious and judgmental about what we look like. The world would be a happier place if everybody could take such things less seriously, don’t you think?
This story rings true on so many levels. I, as well have difficulty viewing my aging physique. Wonderful how the elder looks beyond outward appearance. He see the person as who they are, and not what they look like.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThanks for your nice comment, Deborah. I think that if we manage to look beyond the wrinkles and other signs of older age in other people, we probably can be less judgmental of ourselves. It’s not easy in this time of photoshopping and worship of youth and beauty, but we are all getting older and we should be comfortable with our age and looks.
Another awesome story, Christer. Your story reflects different dimensions of life. But I really like the perspective of young Adam. He doesn’t care about how he looks. He’s just enjoying and having fun. It’s fun to be a child. And 83-year-old Christopher reflects on how life changes over time. His perspective is wise and full of contentment. It’s also nice to grow old with a meaningful life and have done something good… Read more »