Random reflections

I was in Parliament House today. A building I worked in for nearly 7 years but which still keeps revealing secrets. It turns out that the building was deliberately designed to have no mirrors at all – apart from the bathrooms (and subsequently the pass office where people can do a quick check before having their photo taken). This was because the designer felt that the building should be without vanity.

Now of course anyone who knows Parliament knows it is hardly a building full of people without vanity, but it got me thinking about the different types of vanity and how they manifest, even if there are no mirrors at hand for gazing.

There’s the obvious physical vanity – primping and preening and obsessive glances at oneself in any surface that might be even slightly reflective. But what about other types of vanity? Like the arrogance to think that you have the right to meddle in other people’s business. To interfere in their lives and try to dictate their actions.

Is that vanity? Or just supreme arrogance?

If it’s arrogance, I suppose the next question is what part of the assumption that you have the right to meddle is vain – the assumption itself or the expectation that you will get your way simply because you want it? In my view it’s the latter. We all meddle – whether we admit it or not. We all offer opinions on other’s actions. We all think we know best. I think for me the tipping point to vanity is when you actually expect someone to jump to your command. To bow to your infinite wisdom - wisdom being all the more infinite for your utter lack of experience and perspective of the situation being faced by the other person.

What do you think? Is this vanity? What other forms of vanity are there?