Wretched Guts of Freedom

The interesting thing about art derived from an ugly wretched pain is that the artist develops a greater understanding of that pain. To be moved enough to create something out of pain is an acknowledgment or confrontation of that pain, a process. The result of that process is a transformation with a deep meaning to the creator. The transformation is the eventual letting go or moving on.

Even with letting go or moving on, there is still that knowledge possessed. Letting go isn't eliminating or forgetting pain. Letting go is a choice. It is choosing to refrain from struggle. It is a freedom. The pain is there and it cannot be denied. It just exists in an altered state, another form. For me, that is the beauty in art. Even art derived from something ugly, wretched, and painful.

For me, it is freedom...

Outside the Box

Think outside of the box and write outside of the box and you will be outside of the box.

How do I cause thought outside of the box? How do I write that down while outside? I don’t know and I don’t know. If I knew it would be inside of my box. Even when considering the boundaries of my box, as I breathe and see, there are varied concepts of volume and distance. Does my box have windows and doors? I’d never be able to get out without them. After all, the most useful part of a box is the part where the box isn’t. The passage of open mind is always permitted. The knowledge of my box is not static. With a closed mind all volume and distance is static. I am certain of that.

So then, if the knowledge of my box is not static what are the assumptions for the change in volume and distance? Am I free to interpretations? Yes, I am free to interpretation. I am free to live, think, and write outside of the box. I have no idea how, but I am open to that. If I claimed to know how, then I would be inside the box. How do I forget everything I already know or disregard everything I want to know and place my pen down to paper with a clean page?

Now then, I wander outside of the box and I realize that. The moment I realize that, I have changed the borders of my box. I am no longer outside. Did I merely move the box or did I expand my box? What is the perspective of movement from A to B? These points can be inside and outside at the same time and each may be viewed from the other. I equate this to seeing myself as others do. Step outside of myself and see me. This is my realm and outside of my realm. The focus can be inside the box or outside of the box, inside my realm or outside of it.

Did you ever wonder how many people only see the "outside of the box" as a two dimensional box? Draw a box on a piece of paper. Put a dot on the inside. That is you. Put a dot outside of the box. That is also you. That is not thinking outside of the box. That is thinking outside of the square. That is X and Y. Pick your pen up off of the paper and put a dot in the air. That is also you. Include the Z axis. X, Y, and Z. Why? Because it is then a box. Shoes come in a box. Cereal comes in a box. We live in a box, so to speak. They all have a known volume and distance. Don’t be so comfortable in there. Eat a good breakfast, put on some comfy shoes and go for a walk outside of your box. Have an open mind. Utilize the useful portions of your mind and take the passage beyond.

Furthermore, don't see the box as three dimensional. I don’t know what I don't see...

Memories of John Lennon

Yes. Dearest Yoko, my memories of John:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebelwithafrog/5245222138/

I traveled to an unfamiliar city (NYC) and met an unfamiliar woman. She learned that I did not have a place to stay for the night, that I didn’t know anyone, that I was alone. She offered her couch, I accepted. At her apartment she brewed an evening pot of tea to share. I could hear the water getting hot and I could see the vapors rolling out of the spout. Just as it whistled she stood up and exclaimed "O'cha, honorable tea!" She played music: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, repeatedly. We spent the evening chatting, sharing the stories of our lives and sipping jasmine tea. There is one song still fresh in my mind from that evening. Isolation. It brings me back to that evening, back to that pot of tea, back to the particular moment in my life where the fear of being alone wasn’t the obvious feeling. The prevailing feeling was the joy of unconditional company. The evening ended with her whispering to her tea cup “Invisible flowers, unfold your wings and fly with the sunrise...” When I woke up she was gone. There was a note on the table to enjoy a muffin with the sunrise. I finished our pot of tea and I left to continue my journey. I never saw or spoke to her again.

I have no direct memory of John. What I do have is his presence in the memory of a peaceful moment in my life. I am grateful for his subtle and lingering influence he had on my life that night. Jasmine tea and the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album are a catalyst for recalling the peace in my life. They remind me that I am not alone in my desire for the situation to harmony. Yoko, as a complete stranger, in direct contrast to my rebellious tendencies of isolation I thought I would share that with you. I thought I would share that with you out loud in public.
Thanks for asking.
http://imaginepeace.com/archives/13454
Peace.
Rebel with a Frog

what use is the 25 hour sunday

I used to call people when I knew they weren’t home and leave short poems on their answering machines. The problem with that today is twofold. 1. Cell phones and voice mail. More people abandoned land lines and carry cell phones. How do you call them when they’re not home when they take their phone with them? 2. Answering machines have fallen in use to phone service voice mail. The transfer of information via recorded message is the same, but the vehicle has changed. Old School: There was nothing like coming home, standing in your dining room or kitchen, pressing a button and listening to poetry. Time changes..

I wandered around a bit on Saturday night. well into Sunday until it was time to change the clocks. With the moon about 0% full nothing visually inspired me, only words. Vexed atwix the weight of camera and weight of pen. I sat at my desk with fresh ink. not pencil, pen. I'm not afraid of not editing. I set my clocks back for daylight savings and went to bed.


listening to the night fill the room…
i don't so much notice the clouds, or lack there of, when the moon is so new.
as such, leaves are missing from the branches of trees.
pears in the bluster of darkness drop, the foraging racoons.
momentary water fills the basement toilet (jiggle the handle).
mental note: pay attention to old things.
window sashes bumping jambs. drafts or ghosts?
coldness in the air indicates neither, could be either.
in stillness,
she breathes warmth, wearing comfortable socks
fast asleep in slumber.
i lay awake under blanket
contemplating a morning cup of tea.

what use is the 25 hour sunday?

cloudwalking

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rebelwithafrog/3985606083/

taking a walk and shooting the clouds. the autumn sky in the morning causes pause.

I seek a vantage point to admire the clouds, to observe the trees, and appreciate the lake; as I breathe, nothing is more important than this moment. who am I to call for inner peace when the tools for concurrence already exist?

Featured 10/6/2009 on portalwisconsin.org/

disambiguation: "who ami I to call for inner peace"? I can't just turn inner peace on or demand inner peace on queue. The caption for the photo was partly inspired by a quote from Harry Emerson Fosdick
"No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it."

Note:
The more I look at this photo, the more I realize how important it was for me to "pause" that moment. I did not pounce, I did not demand anything. and I did not instantly relax. I merely stood still, took a deep breath, held it and then took a picture when it felt good.

I never planned for or imagined that the top of an outhouse would be included in one of my favorite photo/moments. But there it is tucked away in the subtle edge of darkness. I suppose at some point in the big picture, no matter what we're doing where ever we are, we must take care of business in order to be able to relax. For me this photo is the evacuated movement of stress.

Who Takes a Camera to go Buy Socks?

I went to go buy some socks. On the way I saw this sunset behind the electrical equipment and stopped.

Cool. By the time I got to the store, they were closed. Not cool. I'll get socks another day.

Rhetorical question: Who takes their camera to go buy socks?

Psychology of Walking on the Moon

Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin photographed this footprint in the lunar soil 1969-07-21 Latitude/Longitude (deg): -00.57,023.49 E.

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/a11_h_40_5878.html
I dug out an old psychology essay for the 40 year commemoration of "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." walking on the moon on July 20th, 1969. In the process of commeration, let's not forget the other Appollo 11 crew members Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

Comparison and Contrast of Adjustment and Personal Growth
What does adjustment and personal growth have to do with psychology? First of all we must have an understanding of psychology. Psychology is a science. Not so much as the science, which makes rockets fly or how cold it can get on the moon. But, psychology as a science in the sense of gathering information about observable behaviors and mental processes, to use that information to help suggest methods of adjustment and avenues for growth in ones life.

Let’s consider the astronaut Neil Armstrong on July 20th, 1969. How would humans function and or behave in outer space? At one time, no one knew. We do know that the demands of gravity from the earth continually pull on Neil to keep him grounded to the earth, his natural environment. Neil places himself in a rocket and applies a force against the earth, which is greater than gravity. He blasts into space and eventually walks on the moon; not his natural environment. Neil has successfully made many adjustments in his environment in order to maintain his desire to walk on the moon.

During this “adjustment” Neil most likely experienced many thoughts and feelings while he considered the effects of removing himself from his natural environment. There must have been a great deal of stress knowing that if he was not vigilant with the environmental observations needed to react to his changing environment and act appropriately to maintain it, his environment would change beyond life sustaining and he would expire. There are not many people who would subjectively put themselves in a situation like that for science.

How long is a human being able to sustain in an environment away from their natural environment? Are Humans able to cope and maintain an acceptable environment suitable for life in that environment? Are we able to act in accordance with prevailing modes, to accommodate or conform? We still do not know entirely. Observing the behaviors and mental process of astronauts in such an extremely controlled environment may provide some insight to help suggest methods of adjustment and avenues for growth in ones life in an environment not so extreme. One might imagine negative, positive and correlational methods of scientific study at this time.

Hmm. Many a hypothesis tested with further experimentation.

This trip to the moon and back most likely affected Neil’s perception of life, his point of reference. He may value many aspects of his life and the earth’s existence he previously did not consider. His points of reference are different than mine, yet mine may be similar. It must have been great to step there on the moon and contemplate all the previous steps that had to occur without fail in order to achieve that end result, the greatness of walking on the moon. It must have been great to realize how meaningless that moment is to him if that feat was not duplicated by returning to earth, his natural environment. When Neil returned to earth, it was Neil that had changed and not the earth. By acting in the specific manor of reacting to his environment, even though he subjectively placed himself in that environment, I feel fairly confident that he experienced some personal growth. I’ll assume he didn’t go to the moon to become a politician, or because it was neat-o. I believe he did it because he felt a need to create a novel environment for himself and for mankind by going where no one has ever gone before; thus, creating a sense of self-achievement and personal growth.

I was going to stop and think about Astronauts as a cultural sub population and how much of a minority they are but yet how diverse they are, and need to be. But I didn’t. What I did stop to think about was just exactly what does Neil Armstrong have to do with psychology and the comparison and contrast of adjustment and personal growth. Not much directly, but it was how I decided express my opinion to the reader to let them know what I understand about psychology and the comparison and contrast of adjustment and personal growth without just saying it. Adjustment is (extrinsic motivation) adapting to meet the needs of an environment. Personal growth is (intrinsic motivation) acting in order to become or meet the needs of an environment. The comparison is how both of them sometimes have the same end result. The contrast is how both of them come from a different space.