“I saw a bird,” my teacher began, “and it had found a mirror.” He paused, as though to let it sink in. “It was pecking at its reflection!” he burst out, grinning.It hates itself, I think.
“…It was like it was in love with its reflection.”
My train of thought comes to a screeching halt with those words. Another thought overtakes it, racing through my mind on smoldering, black wheels. I wince as unwelcome implications begin to sink in: Introspection at its best.
Negativity. Loathing. Pettiness; the darker of the human emotions were the first things that filled my mind on hearing the tale of the little, pecking bird.
My teacher, with his silly mop of hair and awkwardly striped polo, had a completely different thought process. I almost look over to see if there’ll be a halo hanging over him. Almost.
Whereas I heard of the bird and thought of loathing, Mr. Obrien thought of love.
It might mean nothing… or it might not. Whatever it means, I breathe a little sigh of relief. Thank god O’Brien is a teacher…
And the silent, almost unvoiced thought: Thank god I’m not.
Wow. I think that you thinking that might be a function of your age/stage in life. Isn't it great that we don't all think the same way? Might even be a back door into considering why CBT is so great...people can even be trained/train themselves to think differently and/or more positively. I still think that narcissistic bird needs some medication, though.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, I just wanna say that you are an AMAZING writer! I never knew that!! Please publish a book someday.
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