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REFLECTION UPON REFLECTION
Sunday Aug. 18, 2019
I was asking a friend for a single word defining me.
Without hesitation, her answer: “transparent”**.
Who wouldn’t like to hear that?
Mirrors offer illusion, seeing ourselves as reversed two-dimensional reflection surface, but lacking depth. Others see us whole, not reversed, know us in ways which don’t show up in any mirror.
Our appearance has little to do with whether anyone find us of value.
Yet, we live in a world obsessed by what we see in mirrors – what we wear, how skin, hair, smile, and body parts appear … .
I think we see each other more deeply, reveal ourselves most, by actions rather than words, by what’s inside rather than how we look on the outside. Those confidences are the confessional for friend – behold, transparency.
Friends don’t see us, they see right through us.
** a real estate marketing guru’s advice crossed my desk recently; it included a motivational video, which suggested we (real estate industry service providers) should define and market ourselves as a one-word brand, challenging us to define in one word, that characteristic which best describes why clients choose us to provide service and give advice to them. That struck me as great advice, for anyone. I wrestled with a number of words which seemed good, close and fair but struggled to wrap it all in a single word, or to boast about. So I solved the challenge by asking a friend – who gave me transparent. That’s something we should all do more often – ask a friend how they see you. If they care, they tell truth. If they don’t, what kind of friend were they really?
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