vainglory n. excessive vanity
A few months ago I was watching an absolutely horrible show entitled "Wife Swap." The premise of the show is to take 2 families at completely opposite ends of the economic spectrum and switch wives for a week. For the first week, the "new" wife had to follow the usual house rules of the home she is temporarily visiting. Then the next week, the family had to live by the visiting wife's rules. This particular episode featured a mother who was a self help guru and had a series of books and lectures on how to "Be Your Best You." This included dressing well, eating all organic food, wearing make up and being overly friendly. During the episode she gave a lecture at a homeless shelter and tried to sell her book to people who didn't have any money. The much less affluent family she was staying with was appalled.The question is where to draw the line on "Being Your Best You." What does that mean? Isn't the phrase somewhat narcissistic in itself?To clarify my thoughts I looked up the story of Narcissus which I remembered the basic plot of but not all of the details. I stumbled upon an excerpt from Milton's Paradise Lost that captures the mythology beautifully:
"That day I oft remember when from sleep I first awaked, and found myself reposed Under a shade on flowers, much wondering where And what I was, whence thither brought, and how Not distant far from thence a murmuring sound Of waters issued from a cave, and spread Into a liquid plain, then stood unmoved Pure as the expanse of heaven; I tither went With unexperienced thought, and laid me down On the green bank, to look into the clear Smooth lake that to me seemed another sky. As I bent down to look, just opposite A shape within the watery gleam appeared, Bending to look on me. I started back; It started back; but pleased I soon returned, Pleased it returned as soon with answering looks Of sympathy and love. There had I fixed Mine eyes till now, and pined with vain desire, Had not a voice thus warned me: 'What thou seest, What there thou seest, fair creature, is thyself;" etc. Paradise Lost, Book IV.
Every morning when I awake, I look in the mirror. Most days I am somewhat apathetic to my appearance. Other days, I hate what I see. Rarely am I pleased. Now that I think about it, I look at my reflection a lot during the average day. Not even because I am trying to. There are just mirrors everywhere - windows, puddles, etc. I am sure if you think about it, you are looking at yourself a lot too.
The world would be much better without mirrors. Imagine that you had a rare opportunity to look at yourself - perhaps once a week. Imagine how much less time you would spend on yourself and what you might do with that time. If Narcissus had not been able to stare into the water, perhaps he would have fallen in love with someone other than himself. Perhaps we would all stop trying to "Be Our Best Us" through physical appearances. Perhaps we could use other people as mirrors.
Other people can reflect us. Our families and children. If we focus on using people as our mirrors then our reflections are our actions and not just a facade that people see. Think of how different "Being Your Best You" would be if all you had were other people to be your mirror and you theirs. You would most likely be a nicer, respectable person. Or the opposite - if you're an asshole, you would get it thrown right back at you.
It scares me to think that we live in a world of vainglorious people. I fear that vanity is the default for the vast majority whereas it used to be a deplorable trait. Yet another modern dilemma. I wonder if things will level out as the years go by...