The World is a Looking Glass….

The Looking Glass by King Vidor appears in the a wonderful collection of articles from the 1940s and ’50s called Words to Live By.  It’s one of the best and sums up what I have found to be one of the greatest truths in all of the world:  We are the artists of our own life.  The majority of the strokes come from our own hand… for better or worse!

The Looking Glass

by King Vidor, Producer and Director

“The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.” – William Makepeace Thackeray

I had to live a long time before I found the courage to admit to myself that we – all of us – make our own world.

The realization came to me in a very simple way.  Though I am a Californian, I make frequent trips to New York, and I had decided that all New York cab drivers were impatient, bad-tempered or hated their jobs.  And hotel employees and railroad personnel were the same.  I found them all difficult to get along with.

Then one day in New York, I came upon the words from Thackeray quoted above.  The very same day when a cabbie and I were snarling at one another, this thought occurred to me:  “Could this whole situation be the result of my own thinking and outlook?“

I began to live Thackeray’s idea and soon it became a part of me.  The result:  On my next trip East, I encountered not one unpleasant taxi driver, elevator operator, or employee!  Had New York changed or had I?  The answer was clear.

To abandon excuses for one’s own shortcoming is like journeying to a distant land where everything is new and strange.  Here you can’t continue to blame someone or something else for failures or difficulties; you have to assume the responsibility for them yourself.  Of course, outside pressures do influence our lives, but they don’t control them. To assume they do is sheer evasion – it’s so easy to say, “It’s not my fault!“

Since that day in New York I’ve come to believe that this idea is the basis of all human relationships.  It doesn’t matter whether it is your neighbors,  your mother-in-law or the people of a foreign nation.  The quickest way to correct the other fellow’s attitude is to correct your own.

Try it.  It works.  And it adds immeasurable to the fun of meeting people and being alive.  –   by King Vidor

Several things about this wonderful article stand out to me.

1. I love how King Vidor words it, “I began to live Thackeray’s idea..”  He doesn’t say “I read Thackeray’s words…” or even “I thought about Thackeray’s words….”  He says I began to LIVE Thackeray’s idea.  There’s the difference, right there!  If we merely READ inspirational, educational, or motivational teachings (whether they’re from the Bible, a favorite Self Help author, or wonderful quotes from outstanding men and women) – we aren’t changing and we aren’t growing.  We’re reading!  Big whoop, most people over the age of 6 can do the same.  However, most people won’t change and that’s where we can really gain ground and make a difference in our lives and world.
2. I love that he points out that  outside influences and occurrences DO influence our lives but they don’t have to control them.  We are at the controls – always have been, always will be.
3. I love that King Vidor didn’t have too much foolish pride to admit that he was headed off in the wrong direction before someone else (Thackeray) showed him a better way.  Too many people are so afraid of looking less that perfect – whether they’re politicians, authors, online marketers, salespeople, authors…. the list goes on.  It takes character to admit that you’ve made a mistake or came up short in some area.  It takes guts to share it with others.  Others can benefit from our mistakes, not allowing them the benefit to do so is thisclose to selfish.
4. He’s as right as rain!  Your own attitude and disposition affect how you see the world and others.  If you are genuinely happy and positive, your outlook will be the same.  If you tend to think negative thoughts about 5 out of every 10 people that you see or meet, it’s way past time for a gut check.  The problem doesn’t lie with them.
5. “Try it.  It works.  And it adds immeasurable to the fun of meeting people and being alive.” Shouldn’t being alive be MORE about fun and less about finding fault? Dang right it should!  Thackeray’s quote appears again below.  Are you going to read it, write it down, or live it out?

“The world is a looking glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face.” – William Makepeace Thackeray