Walking on Diamonds

'Ello Reader,
Sorry for the long delay--it's been kind of a crazy week.  I'm actually sitting here redoing my hair since it's looking a little minty green.  It's supposed to be purple... it turns out blue.  Don't ask.  So I'm sitting here, a bit bored, I haven't blogged in about a week, and it's a good way to procrastinate on my homework.  OH!  I'm going to a conference from Friday to Sunday and I am super excited about it!  So yep, that's what is new with me.

Hmm, so let me talk about thought and the mind for a bit.  Our minds are incredibly powerful and incredibly mysterious.  I mean, why else would a branch of psychology (cognitive) be dedicated to the mind and how it works?  We can slip into altered states of consciousness through things like meditation or hypnosis, which are really solely due to the mind. Our minds can also cause physiological symptoms, especially those associated with pain or anxiety.  There's a whole slew of psychosomatic disorders out there, and I don't know about you, but stress and worry wreak havoc on my body.  I especially carry stress in my shoulders and as someone put it quite eloquently to me, "You have knots on your knots!"  So yeah, it's a little crazy to think something so intangible can manifest thought and worry into physiological symptoms.

What I think is a little bit cooler though, is the concept of attention.  If we don't pay attention to something, especially something visual, it's as if it doesn't exist!  I find it both interesting and a bit freaky to think about the extent of what we miss on a daily basis, simply because we're not paying attention.  The other night, I was walking back to my dorm sometime around midnight. The temperature had just dipped below freezing and the very thin layer of moisture left on the street and sidewalk was beginning to freeze.  I wasn't really paying attention, but when I looked down everything seemed to sparkle.  It was as if I was walking on diamonds.  It was the most beautiful thing I had seen in quite a while,  though I must admit it was rivaled by the hoar frost we've had on the trees for the last two days.  Stunning. Here's a photo my friend took of that by the way.  I feel so lucky to be living in such a beautiful place.

I think I was lost in thought before I noticed the sidewalks and roads.  I love just sitting around and thinking.  It's why I kind of like blogging--it forces me to organize and summarize my thoughts.  I think a lot of people enjoy thinking, and especially having the time to think, but what gives thought it's value?  It is valuable because we enjoy it? or do we enjoy it because it's valuable?  Also, does the value of thinking come from the sheer fact that we do it and enjoy it, or from our explicit application into our daily lives?  I'll leave that last one up to you. Whatever answer you come up with, I'm sure it will be epic.

So, go enjoy a few minutes of that epic thinking, but don't forget to look down--you never know when you'll find a diamond.

Please be well and be excellent!  Have a good week!

-Megan

Rain, Thought, and Country Music

Reader, I am sitting in my room now at 8:33 am, getting ready to head off to breakfast, and eventually, my sociology class at 10:30. I am surprised I was able to wake up so easily this morning--the excitement of the first day of class perhaps. My goodness is it nice to have routine again!

I don't like country music. I just don't. I don't know if it's the overwhelming twanginess or the fact that it's too idealistic, but it's not my thing. However, for all the flaws I attribute to country music, I gotta say I appreciate its general optimism and acceptance of emotion. You rarely hear a country song in which the singer tries to manipulate their own emotion into something else. The impression I've gotten is that emotions are generally accepted as being what they are and that's it.

Ever notice how thought wrecks everything? Overthinking keeps us awake at night, turns molehills into mountains, and freaks us out in general. Never underestimate the power of the mind. Fortunately, thinking can also bring us out of the chaos it leads us into. What a double-edged sword thought is.

So, you know what's epic? When something you don't generally like goes and does something wonderful. Like thought, tons of things are double-edged swords, but with certain things, it seems as though the sharper side is always prominent. Take rain for example, I'm not a huge fan of rain, but I absolutely LOVE it when it's beautiful, like night time in a city when everything turns into a mirror and every light source is amplified a thousand times over, and the world feels glassy... stunning. It's not just rain, but water (It's snowing right now for your information) but have you ever gone outside right after an ice storm? It's beauty mixed with pain mixed with peace. Poetic in a way.

Sure ice sucks to drive on, but we're the ones who put ourselves in positions to drive. It's not ice's fault it's slippery. My point was, sometimes things you don't like end up surprising you with wonderful little epic moments. I can practically hear the Overture of 1812 being played above the sounds of traffic.

Be well, be excellent, and be epic!

-Megan