Sometimes We Project Without Realizing It

The brain has a really uncanny way of convincing us of reality’s opposite.

Photo by Marko Blažević on Unsplash

My aunt and I dillydallied by the marina many afternoons ago. Prior to scooping me up in her pearly silver car, she let me know about a thought that came to mind.

“I thought it might be fun to do a little writing,” she hinted.

You know the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie… narrative?

Yeah, well…

Similarly, if you offer a writer the opportunity to scribble thoughts onto paper, they’ll likely jump at the chance to do so. And just like that, I jumped at the chance to do so.

“Oh that would be fun! I have a plethora of journals.”

It’s quite true.

I sure do.

After a bit of strolling, we settled onto a bench along the shimmering blue-hued waters and slid moleskins out of clasped bags. She posed two prompts, the first of which I opted for, and she followed suit.

“Write about who you were before and after the first haircut that you remember.”

So I did.

And she did.

After our stories spilled onto the pages, we took turns reading them aloud to one another. I was mighty shy at the thought of doing so, but I…