Concepts & Ideas versus Real Life

          “You cannot explain me with ‘isms.’
        They are very bad for an artist.
        What one must believe in is color.”              Marc Chagall

     We compulsively distance ourselves from reality by quickly putting things into categories, concepts, theories. How often do we cut patients, colleagues, friends & family members off with "yeh, yeh, I know"? Don't bother me with facts, I already have cherished opinions. We love the illusion of knowing & the illusion of having control over our rapidly changing, incomprehensibly complex universe. Pure delusion!
     And even the things we do know something about intellectually, we often lack the critical element: direct EXPERIENCE! Most of us need to learn to intentionally connect with, fully embrace & flow with the "full catastrophe" of life - see: http://mindfulnessforeveryone.blogspot.ca/2012/03/65-embracing-full-catastrophe.html
     And no, opening up isn't at all easy for us who've lived much of our lives hidden away, Howard Hughes-like, in the castle between our ears!

Gretel contemplating a nap

Great Novels, Ideas, Conversations, & Life

     “To gain access to the life-enriching power (of great novels) requires a great investment in time and attention. Such works cannot be perused lightly, just as we cannot enjoy the benefits of great conversation if we attend to others only superficially and intermittently. To gain the full benefit, we must bring our best powers of perception, feeling, and thought to the text.

     Just as judicious reading can fuel the moral imagination, so great writing has an equally important role to play. For true wisdom lies not in memorizing what others have to say but in learning to express great ideas in our own words and in the living of our own lives. We do not grasp them fully until we have made them our own. Writing, whether in the form of journals, letters, or even manuscripts for publication, can be a worthwhile means of doing so. The discipline required to do so is analogous to the investment required to attain a high level of physical fitness and vitality. There are no shortcuts, but those who make the effort are often richly rewarded.”

Gunderman RB. Writing and being. J Am Coll Radiol 2012; 9(3): 162-3.

Artist: Joanne Hunt CSPWC, SCA    http://www.gallery78.com/