Hubris before breakfast

We’re creatures of perception - what we see, first thing in the morning, we believe. We don’t perceive an evil countenance when we look in the mirror, we see the very best there is. A familiar face looking back at us. Often we like what we see or at least something in us, looking back at. We like our self in so many ways. We’re our biggest fan. If anyone else loves us, then it’s for this. We like to see it and we check it’s there, every day. In the pool’s reflection every sentient creature recognises its own image. For that reason alone, “I am”.
We, and every living thing on this planet, know we’re magnificent (and why shouldn’t we?) … that is … until we see a crack in the mirror. If our self-image distorts then perceptions distort too. They tumble into disorder and, if you’re a human, you’re likely to become deluded (particularly when vanity and arrogance call the shots). In our culture we believe that human is grand. Our grandeur (clothed in hubris) hates indignity. So we let the mirror tell us “This is you”. This is how you look.
But recently that’s taken a knock to the head ... today we have a different mirror which tells us different things. For the first time ever the vidoecam lets us see another person, one we’ve never seen before. In this new mirror we see another “me”. We see ourselves as others see us, a reverse to the image we’re used to in the bathroom mirror. Take a close look. We start to see differences in what we always saw in the mirror – we were deluded. It happens easily. Humans are easily hoodwinked when it concerns vanity.
Many other delusions we suffer from. We keep them well hidden. Usually from our self. Now, strangely, we start to see them, more obviously, in this ‘reverse’ image. That’s video-caming for you! But the delusions, if we can be easily hoodwinked by a simple reflection in a mirror, even a cracked one, they’ll start to multiply. Delusions work best when we aren’t aware of them being there, of course.
No one likes admitting they’re deluded. And yet there’s a clue, a door into reality, by making the connection between vanity and violence, between what we think we see in the mirror and the mistakes delusions inspire. We can see how we look, in mirrors or videocams, but the big danger is in the obsessing about our own public image. And in related ways we’ve let ourselves be deluded into making some fundamental mistakes. The delusion kicks in when our mistakes don’t look like mistakes since everyone else is making the same one. Everyone is making certain types of mistakes connected with hubris and vanity. Mistakes have been made by humans being arrogant. We’ve earned a terrible reputation for it - there’s pollution, cruelty, inequality and speciesism, racism, homophobia, sexism and ageism. Each is driven by vanity and hubris, dulling the brain and exciting revenge. That humans have these violent and violating attitudes is sad, but sadder still, we’re like that without realising it.
We humans have either knowingly or unknowingly created delusion to comfort and cushion our lives. Now we’ve used up our credit and it’s time to settle accounts. And when you think of it, there’s no better time than now to do it, now we’ve reached an age of unimaginable stupidity and luxury.