Which is the real me, the me in the photo or the me in the mirror? ~The paradox of never being able to meet yourself

Thank you very much for always watching.

When I took the photo,

"I'm somehow different from the person I always see in the mirror."

"It looks uglier in the photo."

Have you ever had the same impression?

Whenever I take a photo, I always look ugly and it makes me lose confidence.

So today, I would like to think about which is the real me: the person I see in a photo or the person I see in the mirror.

Thank you very much🙇

Seeing yourself in the mirror and seeing yourself in photos

First of all, the image of yourself you see in the mirror is the image you always see, and it is probably closest to the image of yourself that you always imagine yourself to be.

It is commonly said that "a mirror shows an image that is reversed." In the mirror, that is the only side of yourself that is different from your usual self, and is the complete opposite of reality.

However, if you just look at your appearance in the mirror, the balance of your appearance, and the atmosphere, it can be said that it is closest to your true self.

On the other hand, the self we see in a photograph is not the opposite of the self, but is our true self as seen by others. For this reason, I think there are many people who believe that the self we see in a photograph is the real us.

When you hear that, it makes you feel very sad to see the photo and feel a strange sensation, as if you've encountered a different version of yourself than you'd imagined, and to be told that the ugly version of yourself is your true self. However, strictly speaking, I don't think that's the case.

The person you see in photos is not the real you

I believe that what we see in photographs is not, strictly speaking, our true selves, and that what we see in the mirror is closer to what others see with their naked eyes.

This is because a photograph or film only captures an image from one direction.

The human eye does not always look at one point, but captures everything from multiple angles and makes a comprehensive judgment. In particular, in photographs, the balance of the whole body changes depending on the angle, and shadows are created depending on the amount of light, which emphasizes unevenness.

Since a photograph captures the angle of view of a single moment, it is natural that the image will look bad if it is taken casually. To use an exaggerated example, just as a photo taken at the moment you blink will make your face look strange, the more you are placed in an environment where you cannot be conscious of the ideal face, the more likely it is that your image will look bad.

The photos of celebrities and models available in the world are taken by professional photographers who fully understand the characteristics and difficulties of photography, and everything has been calculated to take a good photo.

We often hear stories of TV celebrities being several times more beautiful in person than in magazines, on TV, or in movies, and having a much smaller face. So I think it's better to think of the real thing and a photo as different things. I think it's only natural that a photo might look so different from your true self, because we know the thousands and tens of thousands of good things about ourselves that are hidden behind that moment.

You can never see your true self

But in the end, there is no way for us to see our true selves. Whether it's in a mirror, a photograph, or a video, they are not strictly true to ourselves. Is the way we are always seen by others the only way we really are?

It's strange, but we can't see ourselves objectively and correctly. We tend to think that we know ourselves best, but in reality, we may not know ourselves the best.

If we think about it like that, the only way we can know ourselves is to look at other people's reputations, ourselves in the mirror, on film, etc., and make a judgment based on that. However, other people don't look that closely at us, and they don't always answer honestly, and each person has different tastes, points of view, and values, so how they see us will also differ.

From my experience working as a massage therapist, some people think I'm ugly, while others praise me for being very beautiful. Each time this happens, I get happy or sad, gaining confidence or losing it. When you think about it, you realize that people see things in completely different ways. The angle from which you look varies depending on the person's height, the point from which you look is different, and everyone has completely different preferences, so in the end, you never know which is the real you.

In short, no matter how or where we look at it, is it true that the self is like existing in a vague mist, something that can never be clearly identified, no matter how far we go?

If you think about it, it’s quite strange.

If we could see ourselves as we really are, the world might become a more peaceful place.

If we could see ourselves as we really are, how would our perspective change?

We sometimes use our own standards to see ourselves as good or bad. However, since we don't know who we really are, the truth is that we don't really know our own good or bad points.

If we could see our true selves, we would discover something new about ourselves. It may be that we are worthy of love, or that we are worthy of hate.

But in a way, we can get away with things because we don't have to see our true selves. There are some things that we know we can't fix, right?

Examples include "sloppy" and "vulgarity." People often say things like, "If you do that, you'll be sloppy," or "Don't do vulgar things," but even if they are told this, they don't see themselves doing it, so they don't try to correct it right away. Whether it's the way you walk, eat, behave, or your attitude, you can just put it in the back of your mind and let it go because you don't actually see yourself doing it.

If you can see your true self, you may realize your mistakes and lose any sense of sloppiness or vulgarity.

On the other hand, people often say that you are "trying too hard." Even if someone tells you, "You're trying too hard. You need to relax," it's hard to do anything about it yourself. Even if someone tells you to relax, it's not that easy to do.

However, if you can see your true self, you will be able to understand the situation in an instant, and you will be able to calm down and take appropriate action right away, such as "I see, I'm tensing up too much. I'll just relax a bit."

When you think about it this way, you can see how seeing your true self can lead to changing yourself. If you can get to know yourself and honestly change what needs to be changed, you can behave in a very balanced way, right?

Humans have big heads and often have difficulty accepting what others say to them or situations.

To expand a little, wouldn't the same be true of the war between Ukraine and Russia, or the war between Israel and Hamas in Palestine?

Everyone is so hot-headed that they insist on moving forward no matter what happens for the sake of their ideology. The actions they take for the sake of their supposedly noble ideology have brought about tragedy.

I think we can also say that because they have lost sight of what is going on around them and are no longer able to look at themselves objectively and calmly, they are stuck in an endless quagmire, unable to change the things that need to be changed when they should be, and unable to protect the things that need to be protected.

If each of us could see who we really are, we would be ashamed of our own shortcomings, admit our faults where we should, and the weak would be protected, and perhaps the world would be filled with conflict and peace.

In order to see your true self, you need to know the world and use your imagination to see what your words, actions, and behavior are like in it. I think the only way to live happily and true to yourself is to imagine what your expression is like when you're not looking in the mirror, how you smile, how sad you are, and how you look to others.

For now, I would like to cherish the people who say I'm beautiful, while also listening a little to the opinions of those who say I'm ugly, and respond appropriately to each of them.