Broken Mirror

It lay on the floor, shattered. Broken shards littered the floor. Some hid in the carpet fiber, some lay on the untouched bible thrown under the desk. They glittered and shone, dangerous yet beautiful. In these shards sparkled memories both good and bad, melancholy and manic, joyful and depressive.

To a wondering eye, this looked to be a hopeless mess. To anyone who stood and looked closer, it was something tragically beautiful that could have been avoided.

The frame was tattered and worn with age, carved intricately with love. It was once beautiful and glorious. Now it lay on the floor, seemingly forgotten and neglected. What if someone had taken care of it? What if it had been polished and cleaned, then stood up for the world to see? What if it had been nursed rather than neglected and thrown to the side? What if?

What if?

A million what if's will not make up for the mess. Will not make up for the ugly. Will not make up for the broken thing lying on the floor. Will not fix what could have been avoided. So forget the what if's, why don't we? We don't forget the what if's because we appreciate beauty. Some do, at least. Would you appreciate the beautiful even if it were dirty, and fogged over? If it were cracked and rusted? Or would you only appreciate it when it has been polished, and now shines?

We want things to stay beautiful and perfect. Truth is, things aren't. Not even close. Most people would tell you to get over it. I'm telling you now to try to accept it. Try to look around and find the beautiful now, before it disappears and you lose your chance. Before you say the three dirtiest words ever.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

As the cameras flash at the shards, people look in awe. Amazed. Intrigued. Sick. Broken. Dumbfounded. Some people used to look at this object and were inspired. Over time, it got dusty and dirty, lost its luster, and altogether disappeared. No one took the initiative to take care of it. No one tried to figure out what created its downfall. No one walked up to it and showed it love.

They simply accepted it.

They watched it slowly turn ugly. They watched it die, until one day, it was thrown off the wall and onto the floor, dead.

I assume you think I'm talking about a mirror, or a piece of art...

Well, I'm not.

I'm talking about a human being. Maybe it's you. Maybe a friend or family member. Maybe a stranger you have admired (positively or negatively) from afar. Have you shown this person any compassion?

WHY NOT?

We assume things are only beautiful when they shine and glitter and glow, when they make loud noises or go fast or do something amazing that we as humans can't do. We are selfish in so many ways. We ignore things once they lose their initial beauty. We ignore them and throw them aside. We sell them to someone else, or throw them in a box somewhere and forget about them.

This happens to a lot of people. We've all seen it happen. We've all turned our head to these "mirrors". We don't want to look into these mirrors because we think it makes us ugly. I'm guilty of it myself.

But I'm also guilty of trying to help these people. Because I do this, I am considered wierd. I am an outcast. I have been called countless names, been ridiculed, been dismissed. WHY? Because people are afraid of things that they think are imperfect, that aren't beautiful. I love things that are broken and misunderstood. I myself am broken and misunderstood.

It is my personal goal to rid the world of these shattered "mirrors". I want to fix them before the break completely, before they shatter into a thousand pieces and disappear. I want them to know, want you to know, that despite your faults, you are beautiful.

YOUR FAULTS MAKE YOU BEAUTIFUL.

Perfection is evil hidden deep inside.

The things that set you apart aren't always the things that people find in you to be beautiful. I'm much faster to marvel at someone who accept their faults and use it to their advantage, use it to help people. I think you are beautiful if, despite all the bad things, you find a way to stay happy, and try to make others happy as well.

Don't let yourself shatter. Sometimes you have to polish yourself a little, then reach out for someone else to finish the job. God (or whatever you believe in) didn't put billions of people on this earth for you to fight this battle by yourself. So if you need help, reach out to someone. If that person doesn't reach back, screw them. They don't deserve you. Go to the next person. I promise you will eventually find someone.

You're always capable of helping somebody, no matter what walk of life you are in. If no one reaches out to help you, reach out to help someone else. You'd be amazed at how much helping someone else can help your situation.

I can ramble on forever, but you would lose interest. :) Just remember these few things:

• You are always beautiful to somebody
• You CAN fix it
• Broken or not, YOU ARE WORTH IT
• If at first glance it looks ugly, look again.
• If it's still ugly, you're not looking hard enough.