Across the Mirror
On living and dreaming — Prose
I had become so used to live my life through this mirror of my soul, that my phone, various screens, the internet had become.
I became so used to crave things I could not touch.
Out of reach was the col du Tourmalet, the channels of Amsterdam, Instagram worthy sunsets, the joy of riding my bicycle with friends under the rain at the end of a warm summer day.
I believe that social media is proof that I am not the only one living life through screens.
And please forgive me, dear reader, for coming at you like a father on a summer night telling his child to go to sleep, it is past midnight now, and life happens during daylight.
Who am I to tell anyone when does life happen?
And at times, those pictures on social media indeed inspire. But how often do they paralyze us in fear: How are we going to reach the glory of such sunsets and sunrises, how are our legs going to ever look that great, how is the sun going to grace us with its light, with so much poise and care?
So this is my silly story:
It was a very grumpy day because I had not accomplished any of the goals I planned the morning of the day before, which would make me attain glory and success.
I had not written my opera prima. I had not ridden my bicycle across the mountains and rival the great cyclists I once dreamt to ride along. I was far from running around Mont Blanc. My tummy still looked chubby.
— Talking to a friend the other night, we discussed our walk through time, how every decision marks our route, our present, and our future self —
It was a grumpy rainy day. I was complaining about my fate.
There was so much I wanted to do, so little time, and I had promised my son I would go to ride bikes.
The day was not grumpy but rainy. I was grumpy, and my soul cloudy.
We took the car and drove to a different land. Only a short drive, maybe less than ten miles, but we arrived at this place in Old Albuquerque where we went to ride our bikes, my friend and I, this son of mine.
Water flowed through irrigation ditches. The path was shaded by trees, the houses were large, with a few old small ones, the rainbow shining. I could not stop thinking about those pictures of Amsterdam.
Please, don’t pack your bags, thinking Albuquerque is Amsterdam.
But I spent so many days daydreaming in front of the screen, I could only but compare them that day.
The reality I was living with the ones I had half lived by watching screens.
And I surprised myself thinking, ‘this is a pretty handsome life, this reality is not as bad.’
I went across the mirror. I went to live life. I smelled the air’s moisture, The scent of horse’s manure, The pausing shade after the sun, the water running down the acequia, I went across the mirror. Living, I lived life.
On August 1st, the Great Cycling Challenge will begin. The goal is to fundraise money for the research to find cures and treatments for childhood cancer. But what good would this be if we go through life, half-dead, living through mirrors?
©Pablo Pereyra 2020. Thank you for reading.