Friday, February 14, 2014

52 Author Dates - Week 7

Visit A Hall of Mirrors

Until my Beloved takes me to the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, or we revisit one of our earliest dates at Luna Park, I'll have to settle for the Pancake Parlour, where a handsome looking-glass offers the chance to view oneself in a convex/concave twist. 

My version of this week's author date... Visit A Hall Of Mirrors. 

Why would this be good for an author? Why stop to ponder a mirror... and a distorted one at that? 

I found out soon enough, when I paid my coffee bill and turned to face the giant frame, this week. No matter how many photos I took, and from which angle, I didn't like the ones of ME in the mirror. 

Short legs, stumpy body, scrunched up face... that wasn't me. In fact it was such a misrepresentation of me, I didn't want to take any of the shots I appeared in. 

There was nothing good about a picture distorted by a wonky mirror. And nothing true about the image, either. Just a hint at who looked back at me. Along with many mixed messages. 

It caused me to think about how we see people. Sometimes their most pronounced weaknesses jump out at us, bugging us until we can't see beyond the obvious. But underneath, we all know there's more than what the mirror shows. 

We know this about ourselves, first. When we see our reflection on a bad day, knowing we could appear brighter if we hadn't had a rough night. Knowing we could look younger if only we'd worn a more flattering colour, and knowing beyond doubt we're not the sum of a bad hair day. 

And then there's the image of ourselves a mirror could never show.  Not without cracking into a thousand shards at our feet. 

Some would appear deficient in empathy, full of pride and stirred by emotions they'd never care to admit. Others would glow with generosity and perfume the air with genuine love.

And others still, might blend the two in a mix all their own.

Thankfully, a mirror only captures some of the outside, and none of what's hidden beneath. 

And a good story teller knows it's a character's motivation and actions which reflect their true core. 

Do you find it difficult to look in a mirror? Hate photos of yourself? 

Take heart, there's only a hint of the real you there. God paid for the ugliest sins, and loved you before the slightest blemish took hold. 

And He still loves what He sees.

Blessings for a wonderful weekend,