Turn on other lights

I watched a fly beat itself senseless today.  Normally, I wouldn't care.  Normally, I don't wish anything on flies, but a quick demise.  This one, however, was different.

Our bathroom has two very large mirrors that face each other -- one over the vanity and one on the wall directly behind you when you're standing at the vanity.  They're set up in that way that makes the "infinity reflection."   

Well, today when I went into the bathroom, I saw a fly head-butt the vanity mirror and bounce off from the force of its blow.  In mid-air and without missing a beat, it turned around and flew into the mirror directly behind it -- only to bounce off again, probably with an increasingly horrible headache.  And then it did it again.  And again and again and again and again............ you get the point.  (And yes, I did just stand there, mesmerized, for several minutes and watch this fly pound itself into my mirrors.)  I realized that the fly thought the mirror was actually a continuation of the room.  What's more, because of the two mirrors facing each other, it must have thought that it was in the biggest, widest open space imaginable.  And then, bonk!  That must be maddening.  After quite a succession of these little failures, the fly stopped on the edge of the vanity to rest, or clear its aching head.  I can only imagine what was flying around in the poor disheveled synapses of its brain.  If it had any capacity for analysis at all, it would probably be thinking, "what evil god has made the air so very hard in here?"  

To be perfectly honest, I usually kill flies that get into the house.  But I simply couldn't bring myself to kill this one in the middle of its terrible little dilemma.  I turned off the light in the bathroom, hoping the fly would be drawn out by the lights in the living room.  Its life may not be any longer or any more fruitful in the living room, but at least it won't die being teased by those two malicious mirrors.

You see, I kind of related to that fly's plight.  I can see myself doing the same thing in a different arena.  I'm trying to find a new life in a new country.  And I keep thinking that I see these vast, open opportunities, but when I fly towards them, I get repelled backwards like a..., well, like a fly off a mirror.  What's worse is, I feel very much like I'm stuck between two mirrors and just repeating the same thing over and over again.  Fortunately, I know that the lights in this room of illusions will shortly be turned off and I will make my way towards other lights where real opportunities await me.

Meanwhile, I just went back to check on the fly.  Its gone from the bathroom, now.  I don't know where it is, but for the time being (and only the time being, mind you), I wish it luck.