There once was a mirror that spent its days lying in a stack of mirrors inside a store. The comfort of having its brothers and sisters above and below it allowed the mirror to spend its time in a carefree slumber until, one day, someone woke the mirror up by picking it up. “You’ll be perfect in my garden,” the stranger thought as he carried the mirror to the cash register. And so the man brought the mirror home and placed it against a tree stump in a garden.

At first, the mirror was not used to the brightness of the outdoors. “I don’t like it here!” it thought. “I’m not used to this brightness. I miss the familiarity of the store.” Instead of appreciating its surroundings, the mirror spent its days complaining about the sun. Then, one day, a big cloud came over the sky and covered the light.  A gloomy darkness overcame the garden. As the day went on, more and more clouds kept floating in, until not an inch of blue sky could be seen. All of a sudden, the mirror had a newfound appreciation for the sun. “Oh no! I miss the sun. It made everything sparkle with warmth. Now everything looks so dull. Come back sun! I didn’t know what I had until you left.”

The rain began and continued for a few more days until eventually the clouds moved away. The mirror was overjoyed. It also had a plan to make sure the sun never left it again. “If I trap the sun within me, then every day will be bright and wonderful and then I’ll always be happy.” So, when the sun was shining its brightest, the mirror concentrated and concentrated until it began fogging up. Then it concentrated some more until a reflection of the sunny day was permanently etched on its surface.

At first, the mirror was overjoyed by the constant sunniness. But, as time went on, the mirror became more miserable than it had ever been. The mirror had a very important realization – the gloominess of the rain ands the darkness of the night provided the contrast needed to notice and appreciate the light. Without the dark, the mirror did not know what it was missing – nor, what it had. The dark was what made the bright. “I’ve made a grave mistake!” the mirror cried. The mirror began to weep. It wept and wept and as it wept the genuineness of its tears loosened the image frozen on its face. The mirror couldn’t believe its good fortune. It was able to see and reflect its surroundings again.

From that day forward, the mirror tried to appreciate the gloomy days as much as the bright ones, because it understood that they both needed each other. The darkness provided the contrast needed for the light to shine its brightest. It’s those dark days in our lives that teach us the lessons we need to really appreciate and make the most of the sun when it comes back out. THE END.

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