 Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 1:32
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maggie posts:
Hello all!
It's interesting to me that I have waited this long to register. I have been a 'lurker' on this list for, oh, gee, at least a year now. Many times I've thought that I would post, and then I would see that someone else had made a comment that was so similar to my own thoughts - there seemed no need.
And there's no NEED now, either. I have, however, begun to look at my own willingness to 'expose' and decided that now is the time!
I live in Boise, Idaho. (Yes, Elias is known here - and not just by me!) I've been reading 'dead guys' for many many years.
I've never been particularly interested in learning about computers, but I do enjoy being able to access all that is available to me in the world of "on-line" - This will be my first experience in belonging to a forum of any sort, so please bear with me if I make technical errors! I have no idea how to post a picture of myself (or one from another site). Perhaps my more computer savvy friends (or kids) will share those things with me. Also, so you know, I doubt that I will post as often as some of you do!
The current thread regarding Mr. X is truly amazing and I'm appreciative of Derelic's willingness to share with us.
Previous discussions re: different 'channels' along with some conversations with friends regarding difference in perceptions led me to write my little piece on sunflowers…. You'll find it at the end of this post. It's rather long as I was trying to clarify things in my own mind. Then I began to consider that posting it here might be a meaningful sharing. I hope you enjoy it!
Maggie
SUNFLOWERS
My neighbor has sunflowers growing in his yard.
They are constantly changing.
Some days, I look at them from my window. When seen in this way, I perceive not only the individual flower heads, but also the leaves, the stalks, the fence, the alley-way, the sky. So MUCH!
Some days, I go outside and look directly at one flower-head. I pull it close to me and perceive the colors of the petals and seeds, while also perceiving the scent. If I want, I will pull the BACK of the flower toward me and look at it. It is a different view, but I perceive it to be a sunflower never-the-less.
Sometimes, I will cut a few and put them in a vase in my kitchen. Sometimes, I prefer the roses from my other neighbor's bushes. Sometimes I don't have any flowers in my kitchen. I notice that my preference changes.
I have a friend who doesn't like sunflowers. When she was little, she picked some sunflowers for her mom and brought them in the house and she had not noticed that there was a bee on one of them and it stung her and now she stays away from them. She still likes pictures of them, but don't ask her to go pick any! She knows that this might be a bit silly, but - she still isn't going to pick them! I'm glad she is OK with ME picking them!
I was once driving through Kansas and passed by many fields of sunflowers. A sight I had never seen before. Still, I knew I was perceiving sunflowers, just in a new way.
I have seen the Van Gogh painting "Sunflowers" and I enjoy that view of sunflowers a great deal. When my daughter was quite small, she also painted sunflowers, but hers looked very different than Van Gogh's. I like both of them.
I have seen photographs of sunflowers - from many perspectives and with different techniques. Black and white. Color. Enhanced/altered colors. Poster size. Wallet size.
Have you ever looked at sunflowers through a microscope? I haven't. I imagine that microscopic views of the petals, seeds, and leaves would all look very different. Of course, the strength of the microscope would also alter this view of sunflowers. I have noticed that some people are very interested in this view and thus seek out a microscope. I have noticed that I am not particularly interested in this view, thus I have never sought out a microscope for this purpose. If I wanted to see this view, I would seek someone with a microscope. I believe they would be happy to share with me - perhaps by describing what they see or offering me the opportunity to experience it myself. After that, I might become really interested in microscopes. Or maybe not.
I could write a story about my experience of the sunflower fields of Kansas. My story would likely include an attempt at sharing the feelings I experienced when I saw those sunflowers. Also, I might try to describe the sound of the wind and the shape of the clouds. These are only a few of the elements that came together in my experience of those sunflowers in Kansas.
And if you read that story, you would probably form a 'picture in your mind' of those fields. My story might stir up feelings in you. I laughed out loud when I saw those sunflowers. But I don't know your association with sunflowers. Maybe, because of some event in your life, sunflowers stir up a sad memory. Maybe my story would bring tears to you.
Maybe you, too, have seen sunflower fields. Maybe when you saw them, there was no wind and not a cloud in the sky. I doubt that you would try to convince me that my experience was wrong. Would you think that I was purposefully trying to mislead you in some way? It is not likely that sharing my experience would feel threatening to you.
You might not prefer my story. You might tell your friends that it made you cry. Would you think that I wrote that story specifically to "make you feel bad"? It might be that you wouldn't want to read any more of my stories. Maybe you would tell me that I should just quit writing stories!
Someone else might like it a lot and encourage all their friends to read it.
I would write the story because I enjoy the act of writing. I enjoy the challenge of putting words to my experience. And because I am curious, I enjoy hearing what other people think or feel about my writing. I am curious why a person liked or didn't like it. But whether they liked or didn't like it has no bearing on whether or not I will write it.
Is one of these perceptions of sunflowers more right than another? Should it be said that Van Gogh's painting is a distorted view of sunflowers - and, further, that this 'distorted' view makes the painting of little value? Is someone wrong if they prefer to experience a photograph of a sunflower rather than seeking out a 'real' sunflower to experience? Am I just lazy because I am not interested in the molecular structure of a sunflower? Are you just lazy because you haven't been interested enough to paint or photograph one? Is it bad or wrong of me to share a story of my perceptions of sunflowers - a story that is obviously distorted not only by my memories but by my interpretations and beliefs?
I mean, really. For all you know, I made all this up. Maybe none of it is REAL Maybe I don't even have a neighbor with sunflowers or a daughter that painted them. Maybe I've never driven through Kansas. How would that affect your thoughts or feelings about what I've written here? Would it matter at all?
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:31
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 8:14
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 18:20
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Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 19:40
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Gunslinger posts:
| maggie wrote: | Hi Gun, glad you enjoyed it.
I shared this analogy with a friend of mine….We were having a drink together and listening in on a conversation at the next table - a conversation that might otherwise have triggered a roll-of-the-eyes. Instead, my friend grinned and said "I think that guy is looking real hard at the back of the sunflower!" Made us both laugh! |
Hehehe! Well said!
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 4:19
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Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2007 4:27
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Marina
It's all for fun, Maggie. Welcome!
