Navel Gazing

The whole idea of writing this post made me feel silly and self-centered. Navel gazing, as my dad likes to call it. In case you're wondering, dictionary.com defines navel gazing as: "excessive self-analysis and/or self-absorbed behavior." Ignoring my initial hesitation, I thought a good ol' navel gaze never hurt anybody, right? Taking a second every now and then to appreciate, or even celebrate, yourself is positive and healthy in my book. My brief moment of self-indulgence today came in the form of an unexpected urge to document my outfit. Clearly, I am no fashion trendsetter (not hip enough!), but will admit to a deep envy of those fashionistas out there with an effortless style, and the courage to blog about it, that seems to come so naturally. Not quite as natural for this girl. So it felt good to brush off the awkward discomfort for once; replacing it with a smile of (cheesy) acknowledgment.

Embarrassingly, putting this simple ensemble together this morning involved a lot of hemming and hawing in front of the closet, a change of tops three times, and a concentrated sift through my (limited) jewelry collection for the appropriate necklace. The result is certainly not exceptional, or really blog-worthy at all, but while hurriedly rushing out the door in the usual pre-work dash, I felt a small sense of pride well up. Pride in actually following through on a silly goal I set for myself earlier in the year to try to accessorize more often (blogged about here). Pride in discovering a fresh combo pairing of an old skirt and top to create a "new" outfit. Pride in taking a moment to appreciate and document the moment. But mostly--and this is where I really feel foolish as I type--pride in being me. Silly, but true.

Not the most profound revelation, but maybe this bout of navel gazing wasn't meant to produce some earth-shattering epiphany. Maybe it's simply a reminder to recognize, however briefly, the small moments in life that seem utterly mundane on the surface, but upon deeper inspection can be truly self-revelatory in the best way. Have you had any similar moments lately? Please share! There must be other navel-gazing weirdos out there like me, right? Right??

P.S. Please excuse my terribly ill-suited (and dusty!) Ikea mirrors for struggling to capture a full-size human being in one frame. Typical of those two.
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