Reel

Sitting around a lunch table or gathering at the local coffee shop, my friends and I have often speculated what it would be like to live in a movie, continually at the whim of the person holding the remote. Pause, stop, fast forward, rewind, slow motion; the combinations and possibilities seem endless. Conversations are blurred by the manipulation of time and the actions, played slowly in reverse, change meaning. The movie is stagnant until someone presses…

Play
It’s always seemed that the people that surround me have more than just a profound influence on my life. They aren’t just there or here now; they become a part of me, and I, a part of them.

Pause

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
Carl Jung

Rewind
The first glimpse of yourself in the bathroom mirror early in the morning, eyes full of sleep, the blood just beginning to circulate, waking you up, limb by limb, is a moment of truth. The reflection is nothing but pure, unadulterated, undeniable certainty; a snapshot documentation of who you are.

Fast Forward
That makes sense. As you spend more and more time around any person, you begin to pick up their mannerisms. I had a friend once, who, being slightly frustrated with any small or large occurrence, would raise her fist in the air and shake it, passionately, stating, “I shake my fist at you.” It seems silly, and indeed it is, but I still do it to this day, simply because of the interaction that I had with her. The more time you spend around an individual, the higher the likely hood that you will become like that person. It is very much like…

Slow Motion
Does that intend to imply the lack of individuality? No preconceived, genetic orientation of self? If really inspected it would seem that the statement insinuates the idea that individuality is defined by interaction and outside stimulus, by environment and circumstance and not at all by the individual itself.

Pause

“It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.”
Sally Kempton

Rewind
The vision may be blurred by the need for glasses or contacts, not yet added to the physical being standing in front of the reflection. Regardless, it is a time of critical judgment, not only of the physical self, but the mental as well. Lists of chores and duties pour into your head as you contemplate color, style and décor. Appearances at least appear to be everything.

Fast Forward
It seems silly, and indeed it is, but I still do it to this day, simply because of the interaction that I had with her. The more time you spend around an individual, the higher the likely hood that you will become like that person. It is very much like looking in a mirror.

Stop