Beyond the Mirror


I joined a new school this year. One third of my class is new to this school, so I don't feel as alien as I thought I might. In fact, school's fun these days! That's mostly because everybody is nice enough to at least make small talk with their classmates. A classmate, also a new student, and I were conversing about the mundane details of classes and lessons. She just happened to mention that in her previous school, she was among the brightest students, the toppers; but it was not so here, at our new school. That set me thinking....

Many of us thrive in our communities in our respective fields, be it academics, business or art. And most of us create an illusion of expertise. It's natural, of course. You have people flock to you to clarify their doubts, or ask a favor of you. Then they compliment you, they tell you how amazing you are. They express their envy of your talent and lead you to believe that you'll make it big. They make you feel special. And you thrive, until ..

There comes a time when we all have to leave behind the familiarity of the shell we lived in all our lives.Your perfect full length mirror, which showed you that you were the fairest of all, sheds its silver coating. And you know what a mirror is without its silver, right? A transparent piece of glass with a view so large that it makes you wonder how you could have been as ignorant as you had been.On the other side of the mirror is a world so vast, your community seems to be the size of an ant when viewed from the plane (yes, I understand how infinitesimal a degree that is).That's when you realize that there are a millions communities like yours. And a million artists like you.

So when you do walk beyond your once mirror, now glass wall, into the new world that you must embrace, you learn more than just a couple of math formulae and grammar rules. You are surrounded by people who are as talented as you think you are, if not more. These people too, probably, grew up in a community that admired them, that made them feel special. And now you shall try to stand out in this group of people who were just as praised and loved as you were. When you step out, you will see that there is always someone who knows more than you do, works harder than you do or has a characteristic which may seem more appealing than yours. What you need to learn is to accept this fact. Be at peace with it. And do what you do best, the way you do it best. As for those who haven't learnt this lesson, maybe I should capitalize on my opportunity and sell an ebook which will claim to teach them what I'm mastering. 

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