Breaking The Mirror

In Japan, and likely many other eastern nations with long Buddhist influences, there is a ceremony or ritual of "breaking the mirror." I was fascinated when I first discovered this.

In western culture, and many other primitive cultures, breaking a mirror is considered bad luck. The history and legends behind this often involve the idea that the mirror captures part of your soul and that, by breaking, you have lost a part of yourself, leaving yourself fragmented.

The eastern idea of breaking the mirror is very different. It is purely symbolic. The mirror symbolizes our view of ourselves, how we perceive ourselves. Breaking the mirror symbolizes forgtting who we are in a way and starting new.

This is a valuable lesson in the martial arts as well as life. Too often what we see in the mirror are our perceived limitations, what we cannot do.

"I am not flexible."
"My balance is limited."
"I can't do that technique."
"I don't want to get hit."

Sometimes what we perceive is reality, at least for now. Other times it is simply years of listening to other people tell us what we cannot do. This is true in the martial arts, but also in life.

I started in my pre-teens in the martial arts. At the time the were very foreign to the small, backwoods community I grew up in. In fact, they still are viewed that way there. As such it was common to hear people admonish you that I "would hurt myself," "cripple myself," or be injured for life. If people saw me trying learn a jumping kick, they would tell me I couldn't do that ("who do you think you are, Bruce Lee?").

To often, I listened. Though on the inside I pretended to ignore them, small doubts were formed in the back of my mind. As a result, I didn't advance as I should have.

Now, I have broken the mirror. I have forgotten who I was and now focus on a new image of who I see myself to be, who I want to be. And I find that I am that person (though it isn't always evident when you watch me train).

I am middle-aged now (boy, it hurts to admit that). As a result I still get the same advice, though from a different perspective. Now I am "too old for that." If I keep at it I "will cripple myself," or "get arthritis."

But, I remind myself that the mirror is broken and that I cannot see my reflection any longer. Instead I must focus on the new picture of me, the one that I have drawn, my self portrait. And, yes, I have broken fingers, bones in my hands, fractured my shins, cracked ribs, and spent days limping as a result. But that's ok, because in my self portrait is a martial artist who learns from mistakes and continues to grow.

Now, when I do happen to look in the mirror, the person I see more closer resembles that self portrait. Now I must strive to do the same with the rest of my life. And I will.

Don't be afraid to break a mirror. It will not bring you 7 years of bad luck and you will not lose a piece of your soul. But, you may find a new person in the mirror when you one day look again.