Sam Harris is an author with a PhD in neuroscience. I’m following his course in meditation through his Waking Up app on my phone. It includes theory, practice, informational lectures and conversations, and daily meditations.
I was listening to a theory session called “Looking in the Mirror,” which required looking into a mirror at the same time. I got a hand-held from the bathroom cupboard and brought it to the living-room couch, wrapped up in a quilt, and peered at my reflection for the 10 minutes he was speaking.
The sight of myself amused me in spite of the shock that always arises if I examine the mirror image closely. The saggy jowls that disappear if I pull up the skin in front of my ears. The shocking wrinkly flesh on my neck, directly below the chin. It’s more extreme every time I look. I grinned while gazing at the face in the mirror. And I thought, How can it be that I don’t really mind what has happened, and is happening, to my face?
What has happened to me? To my attitude, I mean. Obviously no one who’s 60 is going to look 20 or even 40 years old. But have I become so accepting of my imperfect perfection or my perfect imperfection or my “I am what I am” that it’s no longer disappointing or mortifying? Apparently so.
Apparently, even though I make a small effort to look my best — after dressing in the morning I take a glance into the full-length mirror to make sure everything’s as it ought to be — I finally know, all the way to my middle, that it’s not my appearance that matters much. Not even to me.
***
80 YEARS AGO
July 26, 1940
PERIGORD: Lightning struck the
General Store of Mr. Fortier Monday
night, burning the radio wires and
letter files that were hanging on the
wall. The explosion was so terrific
that the family were stunned and
some were thrown out of their beds.
The store was filled with smoke.
Fence wire, and the wire fence at
the rear of the store, were torn to
bits and by the large cloud of smoke
that belched from the store everyone
thought for a few minutes that the
building was on fire.
–Wadena News, Looking Back
stubblejumperscafe.wordpress.com 
Teresa, it’s either laugh or cry … I guess I choose laugh.
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A well-balanced person is one who finds both sides of an issue laughable. — Herbert Procknow. I guess we are dealing well with the aging process. “Hysterical giggling of horror!” LOL indeed!
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Teresa, I’ve laughed at my reflection in the mirror for some time already, and it still surprises me when I do. Maybe it’s the hysterical giggling of horror?!! LOL
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Great reflections, some of which I have thought recently myself.
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AC, my flowerbeds don’t look anything like I envisioned when I planned and planted them. They do seem to have minds of their own. Petunias don’t often volunteer out here (winter too harsh, maybe) but it does happen occasionally.
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Joan, I just saw that this morning (Tues) — what a co-ink-ee-dink! I wonder why your friend, or whoever made the “gold star” comment to you, is so determined to convince you to try Botox. Could it be that she needs to be “right” about using it herself?
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We have a bed of petunias by the garage, and many of the flowers in there are actually volunteers from last years seeds. We didn’t plant white this year, but we have quite a few.
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Kathy! I just posted a very similar post on my Instagram and FB today, kinda musing about this very thing, lol. Feels good to accept it and not fight it!
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