Life... the optical Illusion

Optical Illusions have always fascinated me mostly because the effect of the illusion is dependent on the human experience. We are a participant in the creation of the end product because our eyes and brain gather the information from the image and its this information that creates the effect the artist intended.  

Look at the picture below, it was drawn by famous illustrator C. Allan Gilbert  in 1892. It was first published in Life Magazine in 1902 and its title is: "All Is Vanity" 

From close-up the viewer can not help but to be pulled into the setting of a woman sitting at her vanity, staring at her own reflection.


But take a step back and another figure emerges... that of a human skull. 
    
 

Some people may find this visual morbid but I am intrigued by it and inspired by its practical message.  The use of this optical illusion highlights our mortality. The image illustrates the singular inevitability in all our lives; that one day we will die. It serves to remind us that our time here on earth is finite and we should not waste it on the frivolity of obsessing over our own image. We are here today and gone tomorrow, we should use our lives wisely.

Gilbert's "All Is Vanity" is an invitation to step away from the mirror and I'm not only speaking literally but metaphorically as well. Some people live their lives through the reflection they cast in other people's eyes. Living a life based on others interpretation of who you are eventually becomes a cage and by stepping away from "the mirror," by stepping away from this reflection we empower ourselves - that action becomes a commitment we make to ourselves, a commitment to live our own life and to live it to its fullest!  

** Leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts.**   

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