It's pretty difficult to avoid looking at yourself in the mirror for any extended period of time. They are all around our homes, workplaces and public areas. They are strategically placed in most bathrooms both public and private and sooner or later you have to take a peak at yourself. It's unfortunate that the reflection you see in a mirror might be quite painful at times. The pain does not resonate from a lack of beauty, but rather from looking in the mirror and not liking who you see in it because of your actions. Guilt is a powerful emotion that stems from lies and deceit; cheating others; disappointing those who trusted you; or committing crimes that hurt others in some way.
This lesson was inspired by the Larry King interview of Paris Hilton last week, a couple days after her release from prison. Everyone was anticipating her first interview after prison, hoping the best for her. After watching the interview, one might believe that Paris learned lots of lessons in those three weeks in prison. She confessed that she was a changed person and was going to become a new and improved role model for the youth of the world. However she made one critical mistake that turned her entire interview with Larry King into a sham. This occurred when she emphatically said that she never, ever tried drugs of any kind!
The following night the pundits and talking heads were all over the TV and radio airwaves discussing her deceitfulness. TV stations were showing clips of Paris at parties puffing on a pipe of marijuana, as she looked into the camera saying "I'm smoking pot now!" There were other video clips as well, clearly showing Paris high or groggy. Apparently these clips had been all over the internet for some time. You can't help but wonder what was she thinking when she emphatically said she never tried drugs. Then you would have to question how Paris can go home and look into a mirror, and not feel pain from looking at a complete liar in the mirror?
Just when millions of viewers wanted to believe that Paris sincerely learned a lesson from her prison sentence and was truly the smart business and family person she professed to be in the interview, that notion was debunked by her blatant lie about never using drugs. Just a slight variation to her answer such as "I experimented with pot a few times" may have been both truthful and the savior of the entire interview and her reputation going forward.
I'm sure you will agree that way too much media attention is drawn to Paris Hilton's life. She's become a media spectacle like Anna Nicole Smith and we can only hope that she doesn't travel down the dark paths of the former. However there's a lot to learn from the errors that celebrities make, who seemingly have all the money and fame that ordinary folks dream about. Everyone has to live in their own skin and one can only hope that who you see in the mirror is a person you love and trust. Self-esteem is not something you can buy with money. Webster's dictionary describes self-esteem as "a confidence and satisfaction in oneself." It is a quality that is nurtured by being proud of yourself and your actions and is considered an important component of emotional health.
Those who look in the mirror and see the reflection of a deceitful, self destructive individual can feel lots of pain regardless of how much money or fame they have acquired. The world is full of individuals both rich and poor, suffering emotional and physical pain and depression that originate from their errors in judgment. Thus it's safe to say that practicing honesty and trustworthiness can only enhance one's self esteem and improve how one sees their image in a mirror.
Life is too short to bring on pain and suffering that you can avoid. It's a lot easier to live a clean, conservative life and avoid the risks of self destruction. There will be enough other people that you will come in contact with during your life, who will try to stop you from being happy and content. Resist self destructive temptations of all kinds and concentrate on engaging in activities that would make your parents, spouse, children, family and friends proud of you. Don't compromise your values for anyone!
Life is really quite simple. It's all about choices. We usually know right from wrong in any given situation where choices must be made. If we're not sure, we can usually ask someone we know and trust to help us chose or do some quick research on our own. If you choose well you will live well. Don't let others influence you to chose what you know is wrong. Then when you look in the mirror, there will be lots of pleasure from the reflection you see rather than lots of pain. And with all the mirrors around us, we could use all the pleasure we can muster up in the blink of an eye life span that we are afforded.