The one in the glass

Many people go through life running away from various circumstances or other people, but there is one thing in our life that we cannot run away from, and that is ourselves. Regardless of where we go or what we do, we still have to deal with ourselves.

Several years ago, I was talking with a man, and he made this comment: “It has been said that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us,” which has come to be known as The Golden Rule. As most of you know, The Golden Rule also means that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. This man went on to say, “The reason many of us do not love our neighbors is because we do not love ourselves.”

Sometimes, in many cases, this is true. There are thousands of people in our area who look into the mirror every day and just do not like what they see. Studies have shown that much of this dislike is not because the person is ugly but because what they see is a much deeper inner conflict. Read the following poem, and it will help you understand the point I am trying to make.

The One In The Glass

“As you go through life in your struggle for self and the world makes you king or queen for a day, just go to the mirror and look at yourself and see what that person has to say.

For it is not your father or mother or spouse whose judgment upon you must pass, but the one whose verdict counts most in your life is the one starring back from the glass.

Some people may think you are a straight shootin’ sort, and call you a wonderful gal or guy, but the one in the glass says you are only a bum if you cannot look him straight in the eye.

He or she is the one to please, never mind all the rest, for they are with you clear up to the end, and you have passed your most dangerous difficult task, if the one in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life and get pats on the back as you pass, but your final rewards will be heartaches and tears, if you have cheated the one in the glass.”

The message that always comes through to me as I read or hear, “The One In The Glass” is that sooner or later, in my life, I must use what God has given me and accept full responsibility for my own life. When we reach the legal age and maturity, if we are fortunate enough to have a sound mind and body, no one should ever have to be responsible for us again.

It is impossible to cheat life. There are no answers to the problems of life in the back of the book. Life is real, life is earnest and the grave is not its goal.

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