Fragments

Everyone must find their own niche in this world, be you rich or poor, sick or healthy, born in fear or in love. Each individual has their part to play, their path to follow, and actions to take. I thought I almost grasped exactly what this meant, but it dissolved back into my mind.

Once upon a time, there was a man who was given a mirror by a magi. The man looked into the mirror and said to it, "Show me the faces of my loved ones." It did so willingly, showing the man his wife and children, his friends and relatives, and his dog. Then the man said, "Show me the faces of my enemies." The mirror churned and showed a myriad of faces, thieves and murderers, all the evil people of the world. The man finally said, "Now show me my own face." At this the mirror shattered into ten thousand pieces.

He saw in each piece a different reflection; one working in the fields under the sun, one basking in the attention of others, one building a house with his own hands, one lying on a boat almost dead, one standing still on the mountain, one holding up another figure, one being dragged into a pit of tar, one shouting to the heavens in joy, and one in pain. Endless faces, each one different but his own.

The man stood transfixed and confused, unable to grasp just what this meant. The magi slowly took the mirror from him and said, "To see another's face is easy enough, because you see through your eyes alone, but to see yourself is to see the ten thousand faces of possibility. Each one is just as likely as the next. It is up to you to choose which face you will honor by displaying." The man walked away, still confused, but filled with a sense of hope. For within the ten thousand pieces of himself, he had glimpsed for a split second, one that made him happy.