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SweetIonis
09-08-2011, 05:39 AM
Years ago a great guitar player by the name of Jimi Hendrix wrote a song that began with the following words:

"I used to live in a room full of mirrors. All I could see was me."

When I'm dressed up I spend a quite a bit of time in the mirror. Not only that but video cameras have allowed us to extend the concept of a mirror, when they are focused on ourselves. I like doing these things and they are fun.

That said, if we become too self absorbed, our perception of reality can become distorted. Why? Because we are limited in what we can understand on our own. Not only that but our various desires can cause us to see things from a narrow perspective and can blind us from the larger reality. For instance, if you have to go to the restroom real bad, all you can think about is getting to the restroom. LOL! Of course that is simplistic, but it illustrates the point. Many times others may be telling us things that can enlarge our understanding of the world. Not only that but they can point out flaws in the way we might be perceiving things. If we are too self absorbed however, we will dismiss what others have to offer. Over and above all that, on our own we are weak, and there is a limit to what we can accomplish on our own. But when we bind our efforts with others we can do more and experience a much richer life. Of course there are times when for the sake of the truth we may have to stand alone. But time has it's way of disclosing the truth although it may take a while.

Many times I find myself feeling like I live in a room full of mirrors. I have to constantly remind myself that I am not perfect and so I should try to listen to what others have to offer.

Does anyone else experience the "Room Full Of Mirrors" effect? How do you cope?

Cynthia Anne
09-08-2011, 08:02 AM
Very nicely put! I do think I have too many of 'those' mirrors, [maybe not full] in one room! Perhaps it's time to move some of them out! Hugs!

AllieSF
09-08-2011, 11:46 AM
No, not all. When I first started dressing after that first super "Aha" moment, I would sometimes bring a large handheld mirror to prop up next to the computer screen as I visited this site. That lasted a few months. Now, after 4+ years of dressing, going out and being me in female clothing, I hardly ever look in the mirror anymore. I need no reinforcement of my activity. I know how I look and many times think I look and blend better than I actually do. However, I am also realistic and know that I don't and occasionally do see my male self shining out through all the femme trappings, ruining that special en femme moment. I get a lot of comments on how well I pass/blend. I just laugh them off, because that is in comparison to what? I definitely believe that I come a long way from guy to girl presentation after all the prep, so that is wonderful, but I am far from that Don Quixote goal to really pass. So, being the pragmatic person that I am, I have never felt that I am in a room of mirrors and lose my sense of reality. I always try to listen and grasp what others may have to offer, unless I am talking too much for them to offer anything at all.

SweetIonis
09-08-2011, 08:35 PM
So, being the pragmatic person that I am, I have never felt that I am in a room of mirrors and lose my sense of reality. I always try to listen and grasp what others may have to offer, unless I am talking too much for them to offer anything at all.

Well me I'm a dreamer, and that's a good thing sometimes. Because of that I have a tendency to think about things in novel ways, and that can be useful. What I find is that I listen to what others have to say, but sometimes I am blinded by the way that I have conceptualized a situation. Although I might hear what they are saying, sometimes it takes a strong dose of reality to make me see that I might have made some error in how I conceptualized things. Actually, that's not only me. I notice people in general are like that. Especially as they get older. They become set in their ways and in the way they view things. That's a symptom of being self absorbed. Actually politicians and others who want to use propaganda to influence political opinion take advantage of this tendency in people when they make statements that are designed to appeal to people's emotions. Hitler for example was good at it. Because of people being self absorbed, they extend to concept to their race and nationality. It's an extended room full of mirrors.