The Guy in the Glass

Nov 1st 2021

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,

And the world makes you King for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife,

Who judgement upon you must pass.

The feller whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest,

For he's with you clear up to the end,

And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test

If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,

And think you're a wonderful guy,

But the man in the glass says you're only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you've cheated the guy in the glass.

This poem is a wonderful expression of something that we all struggle with in life. We all have a desire to be successful. However, society and our personal circumstances apply pressures that push us to live and act in ways that may not align with our nature or values. Sometimes in doing what we think is expected of us we end up cheating ourselves. For many of us, this struggle in acute in our daily work.

As we work to meet the goals of our employers, which are focused on growth and profit, we often find ourselves acting is ways that contradict the way we feel we should be living our lives. We focus more on work than our own health and the health of our family and community. We endure treatment we would not otherwise accept. Perhaps most damaging, we give the majority of our time to the goals and ambitions of others, and never discover the cadence and content of a life that fits us as individuals. And through this path we cheat the person in the glass.

We must remember that this is a choice, albeit a difficult one. We can trade, to some degree, the office for the workshop. We can forgo the career others think we should have for autonomy, health, authenticity, and the chance to look the person in the glass straight in the eye.