Today was different.  

Different because I woke up and saw something strange. 

I looked in my mirror and saw my reflection. 

But something’s off. Something was wrong. I moved closer and touched my face. 

It was dry. But why did my mirror show my reflection with tears?

I was confused. What was happening? Was it a dream? An alternate reality?

I touched my face once more. To make sure I wasn’t dreaming. My face was still dry yet, my mirror showed otherwise. 

Oh well, it’s probably one of those days. I had a train to catch. So, it’s time to suck it up, forget about the reflection and leave for work. 

As I got off the train, I headed along my usual route. And for the first time ever, I noticed something I never did before. 

I stopped at the traffic light and waited with others for the pedestrian signal.

When the signal finally came on, I paused. 

Paused because what I saw was really strange. It felt like everyone who waited with me at the stop was being controlled by something neither I nor they could see. It was scary and enlightening at the same time.

It felt like an out-of-body experience to witness how everyone looked down, looked up and then crossed. 

It was scary.

I didn’t think much about it until I arrived at the next traffic stop. Immediately the pedestrian signal came on, everyone did the same uniform act as the previous group. They looked down and looked up before crossing. 

I thought this was coincidental until I stepped out for lunch and the same thing happened. 

“What’s going on?” Maybe my head was spinning. Maybe I was hallucinating. I never hallucinated before, but I guess there’s always a first. 

I decided I wouldn’t think so much about it. I went by my day’s business until I headed back home and saw the performance act once more. 

I looked around and wondered why everyone performed an act in unison. 

It finally struck me! I wasn’t hallucinating. And those people weren’t acting either. I had simply become aware of a silent script that everyone else was following unconsciously.

But surely, the act must have come from somewhere. Someone somewhere started an action that is now being subconsciously choreographed by millions in one of the biggest cities in Canada. 

Isn’t it unsettling? How we subconsciously adopt behaviours with no known origin, while unconsciously wielding a double-edged sword we don’t even know we’re holding.

I got home, looked at my mirror, as I normally did, and still saw my tearful reflection. 

I don’t get it, why was today strange? I paused and looked hard enough to see that today wasn’t strange at all. 

It was a day of clarity. 

My mirror was showing me what only I could see. Just like our mirrors do for us all. 

This clarity was gold!

And as I look at my mirror once more, I still saw my tearful reflection.  

But this time, they were joyful tears. The type that came with knowing and clarity.