Alone With Truth

One of my favourite quote type things (I don't know if I have the exact wording correct and I have not been able to find who to attribute the quote to, thus the 'quote type thing') is:

"Extraordinary circumstances do not make heroes or cowards, they simply unveil them to the eyes of men"

True huh? We are revealed when we are in extraordinary circumstances, when trauma, pain, fear, even joy are so extreme that our ability to keep up appearances fails. Then, how we feel and WHO we are becomes apparent.



This poem is in the same vein. It's a little dated in it's wording, but I do love the message:

The Man in the Glass - Author Unknown

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