"What shall I do?" thought Tim.
He looked at himself in the mirror as he was shaving and began a conversation that was to change his life forever....
Tim had been worried about his business for some time as it just didn't feel right anymore. He had found himself getting involved in areas of the business that were simply uninteresting to him. And there was a nagging feeling that kept returning that there had to be more to life than the constant pressure he was feeling.
As he stood applying shaving foam to his coarse skin, he looked at the wrinkles by his eyes. He was certain that more lines were appearing on his face. "Am I getting old?", he thought to himself.
Perhaps he needed to do something different with his life? But he dismissed the idea immediately. He had responsibilities. His wife, the children, the house, the loans, the staff, and his parents who had lent him money to get started all those years ago. And his friends at the golf club - what would they say if he told them he wanted to change direction?
The blade of his razor glided smoothly, removing the stubble that had grown in the last 24 hours. "Was that another grey hair?.." he thought as he gazed at himself. "I'm definitely getting older"...
And then he caught sight of it. He fell backwards with a start, just catching himself before he fell over completely. He grabbed a towel and wiped away the remainder of the shaving foam. Looking back into the mirror - he saw it again. It was just his reflection but it seemed to look at him deeply, penetrating right into his soul. It was asking him the question..."who are you
really accountable to Tim?"... Each time Tim looked into his eyes in the mirror, the same question kept coming back to him.
Tears began to flow from the corners of his eyes and he stared at his tired, emotional reflection. A memory, distant now, began to form in his mind of a conversation with his grandfather many years ago. His grandfather had told him, as he lay in his hospital bed just days from losing his grip on life, how Tim should never regret the things he
did in life as he would always regret the things he
didn't do. His grandfather had worked in the same place for over 40 years and had died with dreams still unfulfilled. Tim made a promise to himself that day that he would live all of his dreams - however difficult it would be to do so.
And here he was, staring at a middle aged man in the mirror, knowing that he was going to have regrets. Unless he changed something in his life.
As he wiped the tears from his eyes, he whispered to his grandfather..."
I'll do it...."
And he did.
Tim spent the next few months organising the sale of his business and began a new life doing the one thing that he had always known he wanted and was destined to do.
He grew old but happy. And not long before he died, Tim was at home chatting to his grown up grandson and told him that in life he will have lots of responsibilities but that he was only "accountable" to his own soul. And that unfulfilled dreams are the saddest dreams of all...
As they chatted, Tim heard his grandson's wife squeal from the bathroom, followed by gentle sobs.
With a deep sigh, Tim knew that legacy was passed on once more.
And that the reflection in the mirror continued to work it's magic....
