“For it is the role of the parent to express his concerns and then take three steps back. Not one, mind you, not two, but three. Or maybe four. (But by no means five.) Yes, a parent should share his hesitations and then take three or four steps back, so that the child can make a decision by herself—even when that decision may lead to disappointment.”

― Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

If you haven't read it, it's a great novel. One of the best I've ever read. Here's another great quote from it: “For rather than being tools of self-discovery, mirrors tend to be tools of self-deceit….And when the celestial chime sounds, perhaps a mirror will suddenly serve its truer purpose — revealing to a man not who he imagines himself to be, but who he has become.”

That partially inspired a short poem of mine: https://medium.com/channspirations/mirror-mirror-on-the-wall-1320481c87e8