A Day Without Mirrors. A Week of Self-Worth

Today begins my week of blog posts focused around the topics of self-worth and self-image, culminating in my own mini-social experiment (thanks to some of the beautiful ladies of Realife Ministries!) I was inspired by a Blogger Challenge given by author Kjerstin Gruys. Her book, Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall, chronicles her year-long experience of going without looking at any mirrors or reflective surfaces. In it, she explains how her attitude about her body and her self as a whole shifted. (To learn more about Kjerstin and her book, click here!) One would think that by not looking in a mirror, she found herself more self-conscious and insecure. In reality, the opposite occurred. By not focusing on her physical appearance as much, she found herself liberated, empowered, and content with not only her appearance but also her personality, intellect, and relationships. Before the public release of the book, she asked bloggers to read about her journey and do their own "Day Without Mirrors." It is an interesting concept, right? Could you do it? Could you go without looking at yourself in mirrors for 365 days? I honestly found one day to be a struggle...but not for the reason that you might think. Normally, I don't spend alot of my time in front of/ or looking in mirrors. I look in the mirror to brush my hair, do my make up, and check my clothes... the rest of the day, I don't really pay much attention to how I look. So, besides styling my hair by feel and putting on minimal make up to avoid being confused with a clown, the absence of mirrors did not really change the course of my day. However, I did notice that mirrors are EVERYWHERE! I mean, besides avoiding actual mirrors in my bathroom, in my car, and at work, there are reflective surfaces all around me: car windows, computer screens, etc. It seems we can see ourselves every time we turn around. Coincidence? I think not! No wonder we live in a world where everyone looks OUT for themselves...they are literally looking AT themselves all the time! The other thing that jumped out to me during my day was that mirrors are one of the MANY things that we rely upon to tell us who we are. Some people place a huge amount of emphasis on their looks, for others it is their job, and for many more, it is their talents. The list goes on...people try to use money, relationships, smarts, humor, or sarcasm to define them. That is why Kjerstin's book is so universal to me. She basically chronicles what happens when we remove the false identifiers, when we refuse to let other people or things define who we are, how much we are worth, and what we can do. That was what kept crossing my mind today every time I averted my eyes at my own reflection. How many things, how many people do I allow to tell me who I am and dictate how I feel about myself? How often do I exchange the TRUTH of who and Whose I am for the the LIES that this world cooks up? While all of us may not feel the deep desire to go without looking in any reflective surface for a year, may we take time today to evaluate WHO or WHAT we use to define us. The truth is: We were created by God. Therefore, we matter. Therefore, we are worth it. Therefore, we are beautiful. Therefore, we are enough.