The Mirror of Erised

"The happiest man on earth would look into the mirror and see only himself, exactly how he is. Men have wasted away before it, not knowing if what they have seen is real, or even possible." - Albus Dumbledore


    In honor of the newest and final movie of the Harry Potter series debuting this week (enter excitement here), I thought I'd dedicated my blog today to it. These movies have faced a lot of heat from the religious world, among others. As some would see them as an "introduction" into a dark world, I see them as a unique way to learn life lessons, but more importantly, spiritual lessons. I'm not real sure why people tend to believe God can only use church, gospel music, and "hell, fire and brimstone" preachers to reach people. I like to think of God as "outside the box." I believe He enjoys seeing us take spiritual lessons from things that would otherwise be considered "taboo."


    Harry Potter is definitely considered a "taboo" to the Pharisees of the world. I can imagine "the mirror of Erised" would be labelled the same. It's a magical mirror that was hidden away in a room that was for safe keeping. Harry, being the mischievious boy he is, stumbled across it. He would frequently go back and visit this mirror. What was the lure that had him returning again and again? He could see his family in this mirror. The Mirror of Erised  shows the "deepest and most desperate desire of our hearts." The happiest person in the whole world would look in the mirror and see a reflection of exactly the way he or she is. Inscribed across the top of the frame is the following text: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. Reversing the inscription and rearranging the spaces produces: I show not your face but your heart's desire. Dumbledore warned Harry about gazing too long upon this mirror. He told him he had seen many men waste away in front of it, seeing things they most desired but could never have.They began to prefer seeing those hidden desires fulfilled in that mirror than their own realities. 

     How often do we look upon our past, wishing to go back? Some of us may wish to relive our high school days forever. Others may desire to turn the clock back and mend a relationship with a parent before it was too late. And some would rather give up their responsibilities, bills, work, etc. to reflect on how easy life was as a kid. Others may have some deeper horrors in their past they'd like to go back and erase. No matter what the reason, we could  all learn something from Dumbledore's warning: "Looking into the past gives us neither knowledge or truth." Let's stop looking back and learn to face today as the best yet to come.

If you haven't seen the scene with Harry and Dumbledore, or you just want to watch it again (like me), you can see it below.