Wander as I Wonder

I find wondering while you walk to be an incredibly relaxing thing to do. I think of it as a little vacation for my thoughts. All too often we get carried away or bogged down by the cares of daily life that we limit or confine our thoughts to just those things. This isn't bad because obviously there are issues that will only be solved if we think of the solution, but sometimes it's just nice to take a break. The walking aspect of "walking and wandering" is important as that it physically takes you away from your normal setting; meriting the phrase "out of sight, out of mind." It also continually gives your mind new subject mater in which to think on. If I sit in one place I tend to meditate on one or two things, but when I walk my mind sort of glances from one subject to another; not thinking too deeply about anything but considering it long enough to at least shape a thought about it. In fact it is fun to trace the course of your thoughts as you wonder. I, at least, think it's entertaining in it's self, to see how you brain switches from one topic to another. In the end I don't solve world hunger, or come up with a way to make the deserts fertile but my mind feels lighter and we could all use the exercise.

Picture This

A painted picture is impressive, but even more impressive, in my mind, is the picture painted by words. Have you ever read a book describing a cold damp day and felt like you needed a blanket? Or have you read a book about being at a feast and suddenly needed a bite to eat yourself? Well I have and I must say that it is one of my favorite feelings in the world. I can honestly say that there are a precious few authors that have truely taken me on a journey with them, but their art of description is so real that it is worth seeking out the handful that posses that talent. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of these authors. In his Sherlock Holmes stories he often describes the cold damp foggy mornings that are often associated with London. This, of course, makes the fire that frequents his study's fireplace all the more pleasing. Then there are those that play with your emotions. They cause you to feel absolute distain for a charecter and in one fellow swoop they turn them into the most endearing member of the story. Sometimes it's the actions of a story that evoke emotion and not just the charecters themselves. Several times I've caught myself wanting to yell "NO" at the top of my lungs because a particual charecter doesn't know what they are getting themselves into. Or the books that you just can't put down because you're worried about what will happen next. I'll tell you books are a roller coaster....it's a shame that more people don't ride.

Define Yourself

Have you ever, through the course of conversation, been asked to define yourself? It is a tough question to answer spur of the moment, especially when it is used in conjunction with the stipulation "in one word" or something like that. I admit that I ask this question quite frequently but seldom do I answer it when I am asked. The reason, however that I ask the question is not to get the absolute answer, because it is just a farce to assume that we could actually cover all of who we are in a solitary word, but rather to see what aspect of the person I'm asking, do they see to be their most prominent. I have found that I often get interesting answers; intersting in the way that someone might say a word that I would have thought to be a more minor charecteristicthat they see as a defining one. So I encourage you to ask that question next time you need a topic in conversation.....you might be suprised at what you hear.

Conversing Through Conversation

Comunication is an incredible and peculiar thing when you think about it. Without it, from an informational stand point alone, there would be a world of knowledge lost with each person. Things that I have learned that I wouldn't be able to share with you, or things that someone hundreds of years ago had learned that would be lost. How many creative works would be left undone or how would we even know about them if they were completed? Stories, fiction and non-fiction alike, would be left untold.

In my mind even greater than these, is the day to day comunication with those around us. To me it is just fascinating that I can put to words some of my inner most thoughts and share them with another individual. Maybe I am quite by myself on this topic but I just find the transfer of information to be so incredibly interesting. I could have a thought birthed inside of me and through words I could describe this thought to another individual, and that very same thought that just moments ago was exclusivlely mine is now inside the other individual. Is that not crazy?!