Off
to the side of the room is a mirror. One of those mounted to the
back of a dresser. I’ve been gazing into it for the past five
minutes, from an angle where I’m not visible in the reflection.
There’s
a clock on a jewelry box. Actually, it’s a figure of a monkey
holding the clock above its head. With it being about a foot in
front of the mirror, I can see the back of it. Debating the last
time I changed the batteries.
I’m
wondering if the mirror creates an optical illusion of depth.
Should be the halfway point, right? Reflecting what’s in front
of it. But everything in it just seems further away in the mirror
that its distance from the mirror.
Have
you ever thought about how the images in the mirror are actually
reversed? You know, you look in the mirror and get yourself ready
at the start of the day. You think everything’s right. Hair in
place. Makeup good. And as you turn to walk out the door and into
your day, everyone that sees you actually sees the reverse of
what you think they’re seeing. You look in the mirror and on the
person you see the part in your hair is on the left. Everyone
that meets you that day sees the part on the right.
We
look into them to see things as they are, but craft them so we
see things as we expect or hope or dream.
There’s
literally no way of know when the first mirrors were used. Why
not? Ever seen your reflection in some water? A puddle or a lake?
Reflections have been around for quite some time. No invention
needed. Just look down.
Mirrors
are strange. Hand-held. Wall mounted. Medicine cabinet door. Designed
specifically to warp an image so it’s taller or shorter or distorted
in a number of ways. Framed in lights to create a specific look.
There
are some beliefs that the reflection of you in a mirror is a gateway
into your soul. In essence, your other half. Which establishes
a potential source for those that say creatures without reflections
have no souls.
Damaged
mirrors. Darkened mirrors. Break one and its bad luck. Horror
stories are created on seeing images of what’s trapped inside,
and likely just as many created by what’s nearby that the mirror
doesn’t show.
Although
the specifics of requirements and procedures vary from place to
place, there are plenty of tales that you can find a spirit to
haunt you or reveal your future spouse by gazing into a mirror
and completing the proper steps. So, if you’re looking to meet
Bloody Mary or find your future husband, the first step is getting
a mirror.
What
do we see? What don’t we see? True, distorted, fractured. Shallow,
deep, bright, dark. Reversed, alternate view.
For
many, the idea of the mirror expands into how it exposes your
true self. That the image in the mirror is the reality and we’re
a perception.
I’m
sitting here, gazing into a mirror. No special wishes. No deeper
meanings. Just a stare. But that’s tonight. I wouldn’t be upset
to have my gaze returned by granted wishes and answered questions
from time to time.
Mirror,
mirror on the wall indeed.