words from the Gate
Life, Like a Mirror
A reflection on what we bring to the world, what it gives back, and the quiet power of kindness, patience and perspective.
About the piece
Life, Like a Mirror is a reflective piece about what we send out into the world and what so often comes back to meet us. It explores the quiet idea that kindness, patience and understanding tend to echo outward — and that the way we look at life can shape what life reflects back.
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Life has a funny way of holding itself up to us…
like a mirror on the wall.
Not always clearly.
Not always kindly.
But often enough to make you wonder whether what comes back to us has something to do with what we put out there in the first place.
I’ve noticed it more as I’ve got older.
If I start the day rushing, everything seems to rush with me.
The kettle takes too long.
Traffic lights stay red.
Someone ahead of me in the queue appears to have chosen that exact moment to discuss their entire family history.
And before long, I’m carrying the rush around like a heavy coat.
Then there are the other days.
The ones where I don’t hurry quite so much.
Where I let somebody out at a junction.
Hold a door.
Say good morning and actually mean it.
Make the tea before being asked.
Small things.
Nothing heroic.
But somehow the whole day feels different.
Not perfect.
Just softer around the edges.
And that’s when I started thinking about mirrors.
Because a mirror doesn’t really decide what to show you.
It simply reflects what’s in front of it.
Life can feel a bit like that.
Bring impatience to it and you seem to notice more things to be impatient about.
Bring suspicion and everything starts to look slightly doubtful.
Bring kindness…
and suddenly you begin to see kindness in places you might have missed before.
Now, I’m not pretending the world works like some magical wishing machine.
It doesn’t.
Good people have bad days.
Kind people get hurt.
Patient people still get stuck behind tractors when they’re already late.
That’s life.
But there’s still something in the way we meet it.
We can’t control everything that comes through the gate.
But perhaps we can decide what we’re standing there with when it arrives.
A bit of patience.
A little humour.
Some understanding.
A willingness to let somebody else have the last word now and then.
I’m still working on that one.
And maybe gratitude too.
Not the grand sort.
Just noticing things.
A warm room.
A familiar voice.
Someone asking if you want a brew.
A message arriving at the right moment.
Sunlight across the garden.
A laugh that catches you off guard.
You start noticing enough of those…
and somehow the mirror changes.
Or maybe you do.
I suppose that’s the thing.
We spend a lot of time wondering what life is going to give us.
What’s around the corner.
What other people are going to do.
Whether today will be a good day.
Maybe every now and then it’s worth turning the question around.
What am I bringing to it?
Because whatever arrives, I’d rather meet it with something decent.
Not perfection.
Not endless positivity.
Just something decent.
A bit of kindness.
A bit of patience.
A bit of humour.
Maybe a cup of tea if things get really serious.
And if life does reflect some of that back…
well…
that’s not a bad bargain, is it?
So next time you catch yourself in the mirror…
perhaps don’t just ask what you see.
Ask what you’re sending out.
Because whatever that is…
chances are,
it’s already on its way back.