I often try to think beyond myself. To look at life in new ways.
Amidst that, I’ll find abstractions and perspectives that I think are new and profound, only to learn that its some age old philosophic concept that’s been discussed for several millennia..
One of those concepts I stumbled upon this morning just.. being in my room frustrated about making RVRMTN successful was this idea that life can be simplified to a complex arrangement of mirrors. I'll explain.
We ascribe value to all things by a comparison to the self. If you see someone you think is beautiful on.. instagram for example, you almost automatically ascribe yourself to what you’re seeing. If it’s someone you are attracted to, you imagine being with that person. If it’s someone you idolize, you imagine being that person. If there’s some item in the world that you love, you imagine owning it. A horror movie has you trembling? It's because you've placed yourself in it. In everything in this world, you find a way to see yourself, whether on a conscious or sub-conscious level. A complex arrangement of mirrors.
As a creative, my inspiration is achieved with my own mirrors. When I hear music that inspires me to write, or watch a movie that inspires me to go film, I only get to that point through reflecting on my own talents in comparison to my current inspiration, then using that reflection to reveal my own execution of artwork. A complex arrangement of mirrors.
All of this is debatably fine and harmless mostly, but this arrangement of mirrors can get ugly. Emotions, and past experiences can affect the way you see through these mirrors. Creating curvature and distortion of the glass. People who haven’t succeeded the way they want to in life can’t help but to see their reflections differently. And when they see someone who is trying to succeed, they have a tendency to pass on this sense of self-doubt and hopelessness that they see in themselves. They justify this by calling it “being realistic”. Their reflections are warped and skewed, so their idea of reality is equally warped and bias towards their own shortcomings. A complex arrangement of mirrors.
Now what if we could change this. Imagine that this complex arrangement of mirrors was suddenly transformed into an equally complex arrangement of windows. Instead of constantly using the outside world to check ourselves out, we should be using it to be objectively awestruck by the beauty of life that extends beyond ourselves. Then, when we actually see our reflection, there will be nothing to compare it to.
But ehh.. that’s just what I thought about this morning.
What do you think? Are these mirrors true? Are they dangerous? Do you know anyone trapped by their own?
Let me know!
xxxxxxx
If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I'm new to steemit (as is everyone i surmise), and plan to use this as a platform to share my writing, photography, music, and film. My social media handle everywhere is RVRMTN. Come say hello!
