Oh, oh, oh, this guy is good. When you get a few minutes, read this. "Time to eat the dogs" is quite a name for a blog - it refers to that moment in an Arctic expedition when drastic measures have to be taken to preserve life. The blog is about exploration of the natural world, but this post is more personal.
Robinson's post starts with a nagging desire to push his own limits, a theme I've touched on a few times myself. Doing so, he has a shocking, perspective-altering experience, and it becomes a touchstone among his friends for decades. A metaphor. Milan Kundera once wrote that metaphors are dangerous: to assign meaning to a chance event on a first date can influence a relationship forever. Robinson also addresses this, finally wondering after decades if shock is really necessary for growth.
My own life has been a punctuated equilibrium, eras of stasis interrupted by short periods of total openness, rearrangement, and change. Only now am I finally finding a happy medium. I'm always happy to hear from fellow travelers like this.
I think the body and the mind can take so much stimulation and then they want to rest.
ReplyDeleteRemember that Seinfeld bit? "When I go out, I want to get home. When I'm home, I can't wait to go out."
I think of myself as this human camera. I go out in the world taking pictures and making impressions of everything.
Then I have to go home to the "darkroom" and process everything.
Sometimes I need a lot of time in the darkroom.
Years, though, in the darkroom? That was how it went with me. That's not rest. When I rest now, it's on Mondays and Tuesdays. I like it this way.
ReplyDeleteBTW I like your use of "process", as in developing photos.