As I was on my way to the Little Girl’s Room today, I passed by a couple of work cubicles in what I call, The Boring Departments.
The Boring Departments are a group of functions in an organization where staff (mostly women) are perpetually glued to their desks from 9 to 5, shoes off and either screaming down the phone at service providers in dialects or tapping madly at their keyboards.
I am referring to the Finance, Accounts and Admin Department, of course. I can see your thought bubble now… and the answer is, No! Legal is not a Boring Department because we are just serious, not boring. (Oi. Don’t be cheeky. We are not ‘seriously boring’ either. Grr.)
Anyway, I am shocked to find that in almost all the cubicles in The Boring Departments, each of the female staff has either (i) a mirror hanging over the work station, or (ii) their own picture blown up as wallpaper. (Yet when I walk pass, they try to cover their monitor screen or avoid looking at me through their mirrors – but why??)
As I sat down on the toilet seat (a place where many great ideas are born), I ponder over this discovery.
I am of the view that, as human nature goes, it is a one way street where mirrors are concerned. You will mostly have either a love or hate relationship with your own reflection. If you like the way you look (Type A), you probably want to look at your face all the time, even in a soup spoon. If, however, you are insecure about your looks (Type B), you probably avoid mirrors like a plague. Surely if you have a mirror placed in front of you – it will be a distraction, in either case.
Maybe somehow their reflection motivate them to work better (“Yeah baby, you’re the fairest of them all. Knock ‘em dead!”)
Or perhaps they all have OCD issues (“GAAKS! A hair out of place! I can’t do any work now! Help!)
Or maybe I am thinking too deep into it. It could be just pure and simple vanity. (“Oooh. I look good. Purrrrr!)
I conclude that these cubicle ladies must all be Type As. And as Type As are concerned, they are probably suffering from narcissism. You know how the story goes, right?
Narcissus is a greek mythological character who was hailed as (one of) the most beautiful man ever lived. However when he was born, a seer predicted that he will live to old age “only if he does not look at itself.”
Naturally, many chicks fell in love with him but he rejected them all. One of his spurned admirer was said to be so distraught over his rejection that she faded away in her sorrow and was “reduced to a mere whisper”. Before she died, she sent a prayer to heaven to have Narcissus feel the same hurt he inflicted upon her.
"So may he himself love, and not gain the thing he loves!"
A goddess heard her prayer and cursed Narcissus to fall in love with his own reflection. So one day when Narcissus was trying to have a drink at a pond, he saw his own reflection for the first time, and fell in love with it. But since he could not obtain the object of his love, he wept to his death (or depending on which version you are reading, killed himself intentionally) at the same pond.
"What you seek is nowhere; but turn yourself away, and the object of your love will be no more. That which you behold is but the shadow of a reflected form and has no substance of its own. With you it comes, with you it gostays, and it will go with you ..." (Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.433).
The message is pretty clear. To be in love with yourself is a shallow and dangerous obsession.
And looking at all the other classic tales of narcissism (e.g. Dorian Gray, Cleopatra, Snow White’s evil stepmother etc.) it seems like the only remedy for loving yourself too much is…….ultimate death.
Gasp!
Goodness me, such deep revelation during poop time.
*Flushes toilet*
3 comments:
Hey, how come you left out all the raunchy versions? :)
In the Hellenic version, it was MALE suitors that Narcissus spurned.
Another version of the myth notes that it is incredible that someone could not distinguish a reflection from a real person, and cites a less known variant in which Narcissus had a twin sister. Narcissus fell in love with her. When she died, Narcissus pined after her and pretended that the reflection he saw in the water was his sister. Some Greek tales suggest that he was sexually attracted towards his sister, and when she was alive, they were doing the dirty!
...some things just transcend through time!
Yes! I actually did read the incestuous version and was freaked out. As for the gay version... why am I not surprised??!
I am also not surprised that he cannot distinguish between his own reflection and real person - come on, he is one of the best looking men on earth. You know what they say about himbos. (God is fair indeed :p)
My dear ignorant friend... I was once in possession of a mini mirror in front of me at work. I was neither in love with my own reflection (ok, maybe only a bit) nor was it used to validate my insecurities. I had it for a very simple reason- so you can see who is approaching or is behind you. Mine was placed strategically over my monitor (before they had the flat screen versions) and I would glance up to check every now and again, especially when I was engaged in extra-curricular activities like chatting.
As for wallpapers of themselves, can't say that serves any other function, so your guess is as good as mine.
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