Mirror, Mirror

I came across a link through a friend's blog that talked about doing a mirror fast.
A mirror fast is pretty much what it sounds like: you don't look at yourself in the mirror.

There are lots of reasons one might do this.  Sometimes we do become uber-focused on what we look like, and it takes our focus from other things.  It can be distracting, too.  I considered trying it, even though I don't check myself out very often. 

Then I was going through some old journals and remembered a time when I did something like this unintentionally.  I was making some pretty poor choices on a regular basis.  There was a place I frequently made these poor choices at that has a glass window pane next to do a door at the bottom of the stairs.  One night, I went down those stairs and caught a glimpse of my reflection.  I looked such a mess that I immediately looked away.  In my bathroom at home before bed that night, I found I could not look myself in the eye because of the shame I was feeling for what I had done.  This feeling would last for days at a time.

I'd like to say that was a turning point for me, but it wasn't.  At least, not permanently.  I would get better about making those poor choices, but then start slipping back into old habits.  It was a cycle someone else had to break because I didn't have the strength of heart.

I am pleased to report that I am no longer making those same poor choices that made me ashamed to look at my reflection.  I've decided not to do a mirror fast because I like being able to look myself in the eye every day and know that I am making good choices that will help me to become a better person.

(PS: I wanted my next entry to be a concert review, but that may be delayed a while as I work to incorporate some new information into the parameters I set for the post.)