The Face in the Glass
Dale Wimbrow

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what THAT face has to say.
For it isn't your father or mother or spouse
Whose judgment upon you must pass;
The person whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people might think you’re a straight-shootin' chum
And call you a great gal or guy,
But the face in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look it straight in the eye.
That's the one you must please, never mind all the rest,
That's the one with you clear to the end.
And you know you have passed your most dangerous test
If the face in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on your back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartache and tears

If you've cheated the face in the glass.

This poem exquisitely communicates the value of being true to oneself, to “the face in the glass.” Marked by simplicity but embedded with a life-changing quality, “The Face in the Glass” is indeed one of my favorite poems. Even the great Og Mandino has been lured by this magical poem (He included this in his novel, “The Spellbinder’s Gift.”)

We all have wishes, dreams, and hopes. We want to succeed in facing life’s vicissitudes. We strive to surpass all the tribulations and to accomplish our goals. We are struck by the shining radiance of victory, success, and achievement, and we want to attain them.

In our desire to reach our aspirations, we tend to perform things that are not really ours, not inherent to our personality, not our usual words and actions, borrowed from the stereotypes which the society believes in. There are times when we choose to fool other people. We deceive them by showing who we are not and concealing who we really are. Sometimes we wear masks that do not fit our faces; we don ourselves with clothes to attract others, even though they contradict our own beliefs. We speak out words that do not really come from our minds and hearts but are products of our ambitions, our desires, and sometimes, our enormous greed. We also disguise ourselves as protection against those who accuse and reprimand us, just to keep our names unsoiled. We love to please the people in our environment – our family, friends, coworkers, the whole society – even if the ways to please them are against our own will.

The poem reminds us that there is only one person who we cannot fool – our own self. Our individual souls know the whole persons in ourselves, and they cannot be deceived by our words and deeds. They hold the truth which will set our lives free. We should change the notion that we should be pleasing to the people around us to be successful, great, and beautiful; it is our own self which should be pleased first. The way on how to satisfy the “face in the glass” is by being true to oneself – and to others. To achieve this, we should put a halt in all our foolish actions. Indeed it is a “dangerous test,” but a challenge so perilous can be triumphed if one presents his total self with all honesty, humility, and clarity. In doing so, we will attain success, victory, and fulfillment of oneself. We can be great friends with our own self – the poem illustrates this as the real personal success.

Once again, I fell in love with this poem because it acts as my constant reminder to be true, transparent, and honest not only to others but most especially to myself in my days. This poem will always be embedded in my heart whenever I meet new endeavors in life. For me, being true to oneself is the paramount virtue that one should possess in order to reach greater heights, discover wider frontiers, and achieve the highest joys that no humans can ever imagine. To you reader, follow the words of the poem, or else suffer the consequences and receive your final reward – a life of “heartache and tears.”