I've been listening to Andrew Solomon's Far From the Tree, and stopped at this quotation from a dwarf:
“Believe it or not, the hardest thing for a dwarf is to meet another dwarf for the first time. When you look into the mirror, you don’t see a dwarf. You see what you want to see. But when you see another LP [little person] on the street, you see the truth.”
A strong image because it visualizes that dynamic of self-recognition. We maintain certain self-images of ourselves. We image ourselves both as better than we are, and worse, in order to maintain some kind of equilibrium. But then we - there we are.
The Mirror appears in - what stories do I know with the mirror moment as a critical part? The Never-Ending Story depicts it and talks about, but doesn't dramatically invest any particular power to it. Taran Wanderer does it excellently and subtly. John Ashberry - I had no idea what he was scribbling about.
An idea has taken me - discipline to write everyday. In the early morning, when, as the poet’s say, all thoughts are righteous, and which the other, normal people say nothing, as would be still nuzzling their warm pillows.
It is so easy to always be moving, from the next thing to the next. A discipline of reflection, a practice of intention and mindfulness. Are we just animals (I love animals), just soft machines, or are we awake? Do we want to slow down to both admire and criticize and change the way the pistons pump?
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