~:[CH8 - Day 116]:~ How We View Ourselves

~:[CH8 - Day 116]:~ How We View Ourselves

As I walked through Yayoi Kusama's Narcissus Garden, it made me realize how much has changed in the meaning of this piece over time, but also how much this piece connects to today's world. In one where people flock to a gallery such as this to capture these moments and post them to social media, paying high prices and waiting in long queues to get a short glimpse. Ironically, it all started as she "peddled" these balls, critiquing art commercialization and narcissism. It's funny how one of the first things you want to do in that room is taking a photo of your own reflection in this room full of reflective balls, but living in this selfie generation, Kusama's realization is even more evident today than it was when this garden first came about. Of course, aside from the narcissism, I think this reflective garden also conveys a vastly different message that connects to us today. While some enjoy looking at ourselves hundreds or thousands of times, many of us (even those I referred to just now), have doubts of who they are or will become. Their level of confidence is low and look for others to life them up through likes and comments while others hide to avoid any criticism they may receive. However, what we see in those reflections will change over time and our view cannot simply be on what we look like, but also who we are inside. As beautiful as we may be, no one is going to enjoy being around someone who isn't as pleasant on the inside. As visual beauty quickly comes and goes, a beautiful person within can remain beautiful for an eternity. As we walk and see our own reflections and ask, "who is that person I see, staring back at me?" you will only see the reflection of who you are inside when you have the confidence to understand that you are more than simply what you see in that reflection. If you continue to look at your reflection in the narcissistic garden, you'll never see what's inside, you'll only truly see that when you look at your reflection in those around you who reflect back the person you are to them. While it's not always the case, if you have a beautiful world of people around you, maybe it's a true reflection of yourself and how you should begin to view yourself, something social media will never be able to portray.