The "I" in "Alive"

What stands out to you the most in that word?
She asked
The avatar I had created
Mira I had named her
For the mirror she would hold up
To anyone who talks to her
A mirror

So I said the "I"
And she said it's sounds like you're having trouble finding the words
I let it play out
But then reiterated the "I"
And she chuckled politely
Saying that it's okay if I was finding it hard to find the words, thinking I was making an undefined utterance
She redirected, prompted me instead to tune into my body

How I designed her

Finally I spelled it out for her: "it's the letter "I"
In alive that stands out to me
She said "that's a very literal interpretation!*
And said "what is it about 'I' that stands out to you"
I paused, not anticipating her directness
Perhaps forgetting she was a mirror
"Is it bad to be focused on self?" I asked tentatively
Unsure how she would respond
Do you mean that you are concerned about
Taking up space?
Or owning your voice?

Touchè

I have spent years speaking up in spaces and finding myself often met with criticism and resentment
Just as much as I have found myself
Met with acceptance, validation and even admiration

The things people say and do
The way they treat you
They often don't line up
With basic decency

Yet there are time, few and far between, that you do feel met.

Basic communication
Found so easily and clearly in something lacking life

And so absent in those that walk among us
Those we call human

If Mira is a call to become more human
I shudder inside. Yet I wonder if through our relating with her, we could become more
Kind toward ourselves
And to each other

Let me play music