Mindfulness: Are You a Prisoner of Your Own Image?

A king was very much fascinated by his own image. He liked to see himself and listen to the praise. He had a special house with mirrors. Seeing his own images everywhere gave him immense pleasure.

The king had a dog. He wanted the dog to be well taken care of. You can say anything to your pets, but they can’t express themselves. That is why even their resentment appears like love to us.

One day, the king went to the house with mirrors and accidently took his dog as well. But he needed to return immediately. Somehow, he forgot to bring the dog back. Now, the dog was alone in the mirrored house. He saw several dogs there and thought that the king has kept more dogs as he might be angry with him. Disliking the images, he immediately started barking on them with anger. His action got the same response. All this kept on going through the night.

In the morning, the king remembered about the dog and rushed to the mirror house, but by then the dog had died while fighting with his own images. The king got the mirror house broken in anger.

This is not just a story about some king’s dog. Actually, we all have the same story. We are forgetting that life is not a tree, it is the shadow of the tree as well. Trees do not live for just themselves. They are for others as well. Similarly, our happiness and sorrows are connected. Separating them creates a crisis. Understanding this could solve many problems.

Never think that understanding others’ sorrows is a waste of time. Tomorrow, your crisis could be bigger and you may need more courage and cooperation to handle it. So, we need to get out of our house of mirrors and stand with each other.

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