
Lately I have become aware that life does not consist of a number of static snap shots.

Then why this need to take a snapshot of each moment? To pinpoint it in time and mount it behind glass, carefully labeled? Is it the way the brain naturally works or have we been taught to categorise and store through our channels of communication, language, symbols, literature, photography, film?

Emotion: Apprehension
Place:In Front of F's Computer.
Activity:Blogging.
Companions:Wolf-dogs.
Curtains:F's Grandmothers.
Year:2008.
Day:Thursday.
Month:November.
Season:Summer.

Yet, within the same moment I also feel joy at the shape of a leaf. In addition, my position can bedescribed as next-to-the-comfortable-chair-in-some-unknown-dimension-of-time. And my companions? Do I label them as fluffy monsters or wise sages?

How does the need to create static images of time rob each moment of its fluidity and endless possibilities? How would our worlds change if we imagined our minds as weather systems rather than filing cabinets?

In our weather system each drop of water vapor transforms itself in an never ending cycle across the globe. Each gust of wind results from changes in pressure, influenced by the shifting heat and cold of the equator and the poles. These are in turn influenced by the tilt of the earth towards the sun. The nature of each vapor drop's dance with endlessly rising and subsiding air currents is further facilitated by warm and cold ocean currents and countlessly different terrain characteristics.

How could my current state of mind be seen as a moving, fluid, confused jumble of systems working in perfect harmony to transcend each moment?

In this moment I feel panic at being woken up by a phone call. The police. At my gate. Wanting a statement. Loosing my lawyer's phone number means having to wait for someone to phone me back. I fear that all might not be ok. I trust that it might.

I become aware of the warmth of my toes right at the tips of my thin olive slippers. A upwelling of affection rush through my heart at the creak of a dog basket.

Each cell in my body responds to cycling hormones, feelings of apprehension and trust, the sun slipping past rainclouds, practiced surrender, the wish to be outside, the wish to disappear into myself, the wish to rise above myself. A hungry stomach. Fantasies of crispy potato fried with egg. I dream of freedom from fear. I surrender to fear. Memories of yesterday's walk and the smell of wild-grasses on fur fill my mind. Outside the wind encourages leaves to fly free of their stems. Summer's green is everywhere. Wet blue clouds come and go.

I follow the journey of a fly across a window. Its wings constantly shift between gray and gold and all the shades in between. The same window is filled by a huge white cloud. Blue-gray with rain and sparkling white reflections of sunlight. My weather system shifts and changes. Its pattern are endlessly unpredictable.

ps. Sometimes, not always, just sometimes, shouting at the dogs, followed by a crying bout in the corner of the bathroom with an orange towel over one's head, does a lot more for ones general morale than a whole lot of weather analysis.
15 comments:
your words are so tranquil and soothing hele, i love coming here to soften. xo
first, darling Hele, I am wishing you peace and freedom from the apprehension. then, I say, I don't know why we take snapshots of our life, why we make art-- but I am sure glad you do as it enhances my life threefold!!
Bisous, bluepoppy
yes sweet hele, i'd like to play along. i didn't see an email linky for you, otherwise i would have written there. please do email me - i think a photo journey is exactly what i need. xo
this, "How could my current state of mind be seen as a moving, fluid, confused jumble of systems working in perfect harmony to transcend each moment?" really resonated with me today. Deeply. Thank you.
lets hear it for having a shout and a good cry... works for me everytime, and I don't have any dogs to yell at. So just screaming for a bit does the trick to get me back on track.
as ever lovely photographs that cover the sadness of your words
x
Oh hel, you beautiful thing
i am awed, as always by your thoughts and your writing. and find myself with a very strong urge to fly down and just hang out with you...
I am without words. You are the best blogger in the whole wide world.
:) Debi
That photo of the grass made me call Stephen in to see it. So beautiful. You're a freaking genius with a camera, forget about everything else, it doesn't matter. I haven't been here in a really long time and it brings me such serenity to see your work again. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous world you let us see.
I know it doesn't lessen your anxiety, or the trouble and pain, but you have your genius, you do.
So glad I have you to visit in this time of economic craziness in the USA (not to mention everywhere else). Thanks!
The last paragraph made me laugh. You're right, sometimes a good cry does help more than anything.
And for us and the world, change is the only constant. Feelings, thoughts, actions, everything comes and goes. Moments always pass to be replaced with more moments.
hello hele!
i read your posts and realize how unknowable you are from within the confines of a computer. you have a spirit that seems to soar best outside of any artificial constraints, like viewfinders, crummy internet connections or walls for that matter. i on the other need the enclosed spaces to contain my anxieties... except when i have my eye to the viewfinder...then i am free of everything else. somehow capturing life in those static moments make it all more real for me. in anxiety too much passes me by and photos make me stand still and look, remember, listen to my heart. i must catch up on your recent posts. perhaps i should have read the oldest first in order o understand more about the context of what you are feeling/thinking.
Oh but I love your snaps of moments in time. It's a great power of yours, to bring time to a standstill, at least for awhile.
Love the dog's ear!
And of course love all your ruminations. I am so thankful to "know" you.
i love how you ended this post, my sister love.
It is sometimes better not to document--when we spend all our time capturing the moment, we can forget to experience it.
During my trip to Movie State, I made myself leave the camera in our hotel room one day, just so I could enjoy the scenery around me without having to worry about taking the perfect shot.
Post a Comment