Mirror mirror...

Thinking a lot about mirrors right now. There is a short little fiction piece bopping around in my head and I think it's going to open with a woman looking in a mirror but instead of seeing herself as she is now looking back at her she sees herself from 15-20 years ago.Then that will lead to a flashback and that will tie to the current day and it will be awesome. Sort of. Maybe. If I can get it to work. Or even if I can't I will plug away and post it. Probably. Or maybe not.

So that's one mirror.

Then this morning I was reading a free form writing exercise by a friend and I loved it. LOVED IT. For a lot of reasons. First off because it was totally her. Her voice, her cadence, it was like sitting and talking to her and she is freaking hilarious so I was laughing out loud as I read it. Part of it was because she started the amen choir going in my head. She suffers some of the same doubts that I do. Am I a writer if all I write are little pieces? What if what I have are a lot of partway finished things and some super great ideas but nothing published, by a "real" publisher. Meaning one who sends me money. And does that matter? See, I can read her piece and say, "Are you kidding me? You are super talented. Everything you've written that I've read has been outstanding. Visceral writing. Moving stuff. Funny. Dark. Wonderful. OF COURSE you are a writer. Damn it girl, you make art!" But I can't always look in the mirror and say the same thing about myself.

Case in point. This weekend we were at lunch with friends and were talking about putting yourself out there for a crowd to judge. The real you, your art, your personality, the whole shebang. I said no way. The reaction? "You do it all the time with your writing!" Oh..well...that. But that's just my blog. It's not like it's real art. And the fact that I didn't even stop for a second to consider that this is my art. Even though I've said it over and over, I make things. I make whole worlds. I also make things with the non-fiction stuff. It might be waves, or boredom, or wonderment at how self-involved one person can be, but dammit I made that! But even when I say it I don't always believe it. (also as an aside, it always tickles me when I find out someone is reading my blog that I didn't know reads it so Hi! to everyone out there reading in stealth mode!)

So anyway...that's another mirror.

Mirrors in stories and mirrors in life.

What are you seeing reflecting back at you right now? Is it your kids doing something that you do? Good or bad, is that your mirror today? Is it the advice you give to a friend that you really need to be giving to yourself? And what are you going to do with it?

And then my last mirror. One of my stay happy tips. Did you know that a smile is a mirroring expression? It's one that when you see it you mirror it back on a subconscious level. And not only that but by smiling you can actually trigger happiness? The ultimate fake it until you make it. Smile to feel like smiling. So one of the things I try to do is always smile at myself when I look in a mirror. Last thing after I get my makeup on, a smile. When I'm trying on clothes at the store, a smile (this one is not always easy). If I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror at almost any point in time I try to smile. I figure that if I saw a friend on the street I would greet them with a smile so don't I deserve the same thing? Give it a try. If nothing else you will smile at yourself for being a big enough dork to smile at yourself in the mirror.

Now back to that story bouncing around in my head...Is it a bathroom mirror or one of those closet doors that are all mirrored? Hmmm......