The Man In The Mirror

The Man In The Mirror

I used to blame my problems on other people. But my moment of clarity, if you want to call it that, came when I was looking in the mirror one day and just burst into tears. It wasn't just that I looked bad; it was that I knew my problem was me.

---Tom Sizemore

I learned, when I look in the mirror and tell my story, that I should be myself and not peep whatever everybody is doing.

---Kendrick Lamar

You just have to get rid of fear and confront the world. Look at yourself in the mirror and say to yourself, 'I love you and nothing will destroy you and you're not going to fall.'

---Ricky Martin

Hold up a mirror and ask yourself what you are capable of doing, and what you really care about. Then take the initiative - don't wait for someone else to ask you to act.

---Sylvia Earle

Looking back to my days growing up to be a man, it brings memory of how  a lot of times I lived my days based on people’s comment and opinion about me, my look and my reactions towards things, at times, things people say makes me feel good and sometimes it makes me feel down. For a long time, I have pictured myself as a ship in the middle of the ocean tossed here and there by the storm but often, i have heard a soft voice from within saying if you must get to the shore, captain your ship well.

Transformation in me began when I began talking to myself more; I learnt to bless myself always and rebuke myself for any mistake I made before anyone points it to me and ever prepared to make amendment. I have always promised myself to never break down whenever I am a victim of a situation or fail to celebrate my victory, because they are gifts of life to make my story to be unique and significant.

My mother happened to be a great teacher life presented to me which I didn’t quickly recognize, may her soul rest in perfect peace. Being the last child and the only child that was living with her after my elder ones had started living alone; as a teenager and until the last day I saw her, many times she had called me late at night, early in the morning and may i say every single chance she had to talk to me, she tells of her life experiences, how she had sailed through terrible storms and managed up the hill. Her teachings made me to be brave towards life but often then, I feel bored of her stories because I prefer to stick to milk for babies like me instead of her strong food for those who are already prepared to take the bull by the horn in life, which she was already always dishing to me.

As I grew older and started having strong challenges, great encounters in life and began to unravel the mystery of life, her teachings became clearer and had been a great guide for me in life. She had often say ‘a child may have new clothes more than an adult but would never have as much rag as the adult’ which I will put in my own way that ‘the wisdom in age is a luxury especially for those who live indeed’, it is always good to learn from those who were here before us and have lived well.