Stop and smell the thoughts
Continuing the thought from the previous entry, something else that my work situation reminds me of is an essay I read for a philosophy seminar I attended the summer after sixth grade. The seminar was part of a two-week Arts and Humanities Maryland Summer Center program held at University of Maryland at College Park. The essay was about the philosophy behind the construction of the Great Wall of China. It spoke of the importance of dividing up the work of an enormous project so that the individual workers could get a sense of completion without being overwhelmed by the enormity of the project. The strategy for preserving the sanity of the Great Wall workers was to have a worker commit to helping to construct just one segment or section of the Wall. Once they completed one section, they were done. They could then have a sense of accomplishment, and go back to their lives. I don't remember how long one section took to complete.
My thought today has been one that's been with me for a little while, maybe a few months, maybe longer. That thought is that each of us as humans, in our efforts, are so much like nature. On the surface, the constructions we make of steel and concrete (I look out of my office window at the DC cityscape), attempting to make closer to eternal what nature makes ephemeral, look very unnatural. But I look at the works we make, especially art and advertising, and including what I'm writing now, and they all resemble flowers competing for the sun, or animals competing to survive. They are all efforts to make something of ourselves, to feel accomplishment, to receive attention, to receive love, to give love. It's quite natural. It's just that the form is unlike the forms found in nature.
Just wanted to share that, before the flower (or weed?) of my life expires...
And speaking of expiring, I learned today that John Hughes died yesterday.
Here's a video tribute to his life that told me of the news. The tribute was posted at thechive.com and is originally posted at youtube.com:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOkNIUw0c2s
The tribute opens with the quote from Ferris Beuller, "Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while... you could miss it."
My dad sent me an email today about master violinist Joshua Bell performing six Bach pieces for 45 minutes in a DC Metro Station one January morning. "The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32. He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context? One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made... what else are we missing?"
I sit here, at 9pm on a Friday night, in an office, in front of a computer. What is it I'm missing? In my fear, am I missing out on life and letting it pass me by? Am I just an antisocial loser who's afraid to get hurt, afraid of losing his freedom, afraid of commitment?
Or am I also paying attention to the life in me, my thoughts, and sharing them, sending my flowers and fragrance and pollen out onto the Net? Is this just my neat little trick to compete for a little sun, in the quiet way of a flower, and my way of hoping that the flowers of the world get smelled once in a while (that thought hadn't happened until a few minutes ago)?
All of it, I guess.
I spent some time at deviantart.com, today. I smelled the flowers of Brittany Jackson's art and life. You can find her work here: http://liol.deviantart.com. She's lovely. Cute, sharp, and warm.
Peace out.
- Chris