Philosophy Now Forum

There’s a mirror that’s propped up against my bedroom wall. It’s still in its packaging, I never removed it. I bought the mirror for my bathroom wall but, on getting it home, realised it was too big for the position I had in mind. I’ve been trying to think of some other use I can put the mirror to, anything to save me the bother of having to return it to the shop for a refund. I haven’t been able to come up with any ideas so the mirror is probably going to have to be returned, which is a nuisance as the store I bought it from is quite far away. I’d give the damn thing away but I don’t know anyone who would want it and, even if I did, they would probably want me to fix it on the wall for them, which would probably be more trouble to me than making the journey back to the shop. It’s not just a straight forward case of procrastination that is preventing me from just getting in my car and taking it back, the cost in petrol would probably be more than the price of the mirror, which sort of defeats the object of doing it. In fact, when you take my time into account as well, it’s probably far more economical and efficient to just throw the mirror away. I would have to do this carefully, of course, not wanting to break the mirror and thus bring seven years of bad luck upon myself, which, on top of my initial bad luck in buying a mirror that’s too big, would be rather unfair on me, I think.
This is typical of the myriad of minor inconveniences that seem to clog up my life.

Happy Boxing Day.

Just leave it by the roadside. Someone will take it, or bust it, or something. But then it's their bad luck, if you believe that old rubbish. Either way, it's gone.

Harbal wrote:This is typical of the myriad of minor inconveniences that seem to clog up my life.

And they do so entertain us!

Are there any local clothing boutiques you can give it to?

You could put a note in a local supermarket:

Swap a big new mirror for a nice fresh apple pie.

That way you could make the acquaintance of a nice person who has the same predilections as you.

Harbal wrote:There’s a mirror that’s propped up against my bedroom wall. It’s still in its packaging, I never removed it. I bought the mirror for my bathroom wall but, on getting it home, realised it was too big for the position I had in mind. I’ve been trying to think of some other use I can put the mirror to, anything to save me the bother of having to return it to the shop for a refund. I haven’t been able to come up with any ideas so the mirror is probably going to have to be returned, which is a nuisance as the store I bought it from is quite far away. I’d give the damn thing away but I don’t know anyone who would want it and, even if I did, they would probably want me to fix it on the wall for them, which would probably be more trouble to me than making the journey back to the shop. It’s not just a straight forward case of procrastination that is preventing me from just getting in my car and taking it back, the cost in petrol would probably be more than the price of the mirror, which sort of defeats the object of doing it. In fact, when you take my time into account as well, it’s probably far more economical and efficient to just throw the mirror away. I would have to do this carefully, of course, not wanting to break the mirror and thus bring seven years of bad luck upon myself, which, on top of my initial bad luck in buying a mirror that’s too big, would be rather unfair on me, I think.
This is typical of the myriad of minor inconveniences that seem to clog up my life.

Happy Boxing Day.

There's a mirror
Leaning
Against a wall
In a room
In a house
In a street
In a place
Unwanted
Uncared for
Wrong position
No faulting the mirror
The lack of imagination
Or tape measure. ( can't be!)
It would try the patience of angels

(apologies to Eddi Reader)

If it's in gift wrap you could leave it outside a neighbour's house with a note saying that Santa was busy and running late this year. Just make sure there are no CCTV cameras around and that you do it late at night in dark clothing.

vegetariantaxidermy wrote: Santa was busy and running late

Actually, if I'd thought I could have asked Santa to take it. The mirror was from Ikea so he could have dropped it off in Sweden on his way home, I believe he goes that way.

If there's a local politician you don't like (or anybody for that matter), you could leave the mirror for them with a note that says, "This is to help you see our (or your) problem." That could give the whole misadventure purpose and entertain you every time you thought of it.

Lacewing wrote:If there's a local politician you don't like (or anybody for that matter), you could leave the mirror for them with a note that says, "This is to help you see our (or your) problem." That could give the whole misadventure purpose and entertain you every time you thought of it.

Not sure that would work, Lacewing. A toad would still see a Prince. A note from Rabbie Burns might help, but then again...

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see ourselves as others see us
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion

You could put it in your garden or on the balcony and experiment with sun rays reflected in it.
Perhaps that would start a story of exchanging signals with the neighbour on the other side of the street. You could also play jokes on the passers-by and pretend not to know what the matter is.

What would someone like Tom Sawyer or Oliver Twist do with a spare mirror ?

duszek wrote:You could put it in your garden or on the balcony and experiment with sun rays reflected in it.
Perhaps that would start a story of exchanging signals with the neighbour on the other side of the street. You could also play jokes on the passers-by and pretend not to know what the matter is.

What would someone like Tom Sawyer or Oliver Twist do with a spare mirror ?

Dazzling inside out, duszek

While the mirror is still in your bedroom you could place it so that you face it when you wake up.
You could explain to the guy in the mirror what bothers you and what your dreams have been and why and what your plans for the day are.

This could results in a sort of psycho-analysis or coaching and have beneficial effects.

You could report about your progress here on the forum.

One effect could be an increase in self-irony.

Tony Montana could use it...

-Imp

duszek wrote: What would someone like Tom Sawyer or Oliver Twist do with a spare mirror ?

I don't know anything about Tom Sawyer but Oliver Twist would probably ask for another one.

duszek wrote:You could put it in your garden or on the balcony and experiment with sun rays reflected in it.
Perhaps that would start a story of exchanging signals with the neighbour on the other side of the street. You could also play jokes on the passers-by and pretend not to know what the matter is.

True. He could buy another one the same and set them up at a suitable distance facing each other, then contemplate infinity. An infinite number of naked Harbals.