Short Takes

The two essays I read were...
Stephen Dunn- "Two"
Stephen Corey- "Experiencing"


In his essay, Experiencing, Stephen Corey describes the observations of his 17 month old granddaughter as he observes her observing life. She watches a bottle cap fall to the ground, ants crawling down a sidewalk, and dancers performing at an amphitheater. As he watches his granddaughter, he is able to not only watch these things that she sees happen, but he is also able to observe the effect it has on her. The performance of the dancers renders her completely in awe. Corey suggests that his granddaughter hasn't necessarily understood the effect it has had on her, rather she has experienced it. He finally goes on the express his belief that the effect of beauty and art on the body might be much like the body's response to pain; merely a visceral connection between the body and something it encounters.

Anyone else smell that "up dog"?

wait... what's "up dog"?

How truly lucky we are to have all these crazy senses! Oddly, our sense most closely associated with memory is our sense of smell. It's incredible; I can be anywhere and get a faint whiff of a familiar smell, at which point I am transported through the time and space of my own memory, back to the original source (or strongest memory) of that smell. When I smell that oh so delicious smell of freshly cut grass, for example, I suddenly find myself in the swing set of my old house, so young again, watching my father mow the lawn.
Every year (or so) I change the perfume I wear most often. Aside from wanting to switch things up a bit, I do this because it provides me with an interesting and accurate chronology of my life. If someone were to ask me what perfume I was wearing my freshman year of high school, I would have no idea. However, if I were to smell each and every perfume I've worn over the years, I could easily tell you what year I wore it, who I hung out with most often during that time period, and who/what made me get sick of smelling that way.

Montaigne in the Membrane!

Montaigne’s writing…

He often uses very wordy run-on sentences, packed full of transitional words, which lead the direction of his thoughts every which way.

He writes as though he holds some sort of insight of a higher power that the rest of us don't. It seems as though he believes himself to be an innocent bystander in life, and in the human experience; that he is more aware of true morality, and regards universal forces in the same way one would regard a friend. Several times throughout the readings he personifies nature in an almost God-like way, while also speaking of “her” like he knows exactly what goes with/against “her” ideas.

Now for the emulation....

"Of silent minds..."

How peculiar it is that man, who holds the power of thought as well as free will, should ever seek to quiet his mind. We, as humans, have power of which all other beings know not; and yet, we seek to mute our minds with practices such as meditation or hypnosis. It is as if we regard this gift of an ever thinking mind as a burden which causes distraction. What could our thoughts possibly distract us from?! The lives that would not be possible without the advantage of our free thinking mind? Wiping the mind clean of all thought, thoughts which can only be controlled by oneself, seems about as much of a waste, not to mention a contradiction, as if a gazelle sought to stifle it's speed, even though it is its only clear advantage over a ravenous lion. 

It is a curious question to ponder: why man rejects the very thing that separates all from individual, making each and every one of us one of a kind, and ultimately distinguishes man from beast.