How many of us take a look in the mirror and respond negatively to what we see? Or, to be precise, what one perceives to be a genuine visual image. It reminds me of a hot, Sunday afternoon, a long walk with my wife down a bridle path past a large field, empty but for a lone horse. In the distance, it looked like it was wearing a hat; we were dazzled by the sunlight and in my mind it was a yellow sun hat, shading the horse from the burning glare of the suns rays. It seemed as though the horse was staring at us, and saying, almost coyly, that 'yes I know I look stupid but my Grandma made we wear it'!

Now I have heard of course, and those of an equine nature would certainly insist, that a horse has a level of intelligence greater than what I can possibly appreciate. But I cannot comprehend for one minute that the horse, stood nonchalantly amidst the tall grass, had stopped to catch its reflection as it was being led from the stable.

But we do. "My hair looks a mess". "This top doesn't suit me". "I look tired'. "I'm too pale". "Im too short, too thin, too tall". "I need to change the shape of me". Maybe, "I just don't like the way I am".

We all know of the bad hair day. But in truth, that bad hair day is ours alone. Sometimes, we not only question and react to what we feel personally about the 'sense of self', but over exaggerate and over emphasise what we are convinced others experience . It then becomes a 'ping pong' of bouncing interactions, and often, what we think others see is a distortion of the truth.

Or maybe, the horse said to itself,"Don't I just look beautiful". Perhaps, the story is that we should always remember to reflect on that , and recognise how beautiful we all are!