What is this street light thinking about?
I'm having a hard time thinking this morning. If there was a thought balloon floating above my head, it would be thick, yet vague, with blurry writing that's not possible to read, not unlike the cloud above the streetlight in this picture.
Thinking takes time, something I haven't had a lot of in the past few days. The weekend was lots of fun, including plenty of social interaction as well as a full schedule of work. It was a satisfying, vivifying, fabulous weekend I wouldn't trade for anything.
But, because of my busy weekend and the resulting sleep deprivation, my brain is stalled out, flooded, unresponsive. When I knock on the side of my head, all I hear is a hollow echo. Helloooo?? Is anybody home??
Reading about the "logic" that fueled this country's involvement in the Vietnam War, I wonder if Dean Rusk and John Kennedy and all the rest of them might have benefitted from some down time before they made their tragic decisions. Maintaining American prestige as a reason to go to war? Whoa. By 1960, presidents were no longer taking long walks around the city. What a shame. I mean that literally.
Today and tomorrow I'll have time to, as Gertrude Stein explained it, "sit around ... doing nothing, really doing nothing." That sitting around (or most likely for me, walking around) will give me time to sort through my scrambled neural network. Maybe then I'll be able to think clearly.
Maybe.
For someone who believes that you aren't doing much thinking today, this is a compelling post. I wish I could do this well when I am having GOOD days! I will be back again soon.
ReplyDeleteExpatFromHell
dazed and confused...boy, you described me perfectly after my weekend with 4 grandkids and two great-nieces.
ReplyDelete"What is this life if full of care
ReplyDeleteI have no time to stop and stare"
WHDAVIES is my guru
there is more to this brief poem
Wishing you a peaceful day
Expat has a point.
ReplyDeleteI feel that way myself . . . I've been doing paperwork (and sorting and filing) this morning, but I feel all discombobulated and I can't "settle" to anything.
It is FRIGHTENING to think of the major decisions that are made by people who are permanently sleep-deprived and under stress. We recently saw a film called "Into the Loop" which satirized the workings of government . . . and how we ended up getting into Iraq. It was supposed to be funny, but I found it so depressing.
Enjoy the fog Reya! It's nice for a while - especially when you break through into the clear...
ReplyDeleteI'm an expert at doing nothing. Relax a bit, my dear.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Merle and Expat!
ReplyDeleteAnd if Ellen and Bee are also feeling discombobulated, then maybe there's something in the air.
Bee, I would be depressed watching that documentary as well. I hear you.
That was me last week! How wonderful to have the prospect of some downtime to simply be and think, and that your thought balloon starts to clear up!
ReplyDeleteWord veri today is "couch", which I think is quite appropriate... put your feet up and enjoy! x
as soon as I saw the title of this post I had to chuckle.... feeling the same way -- your state however, hasn't diminished your eloquence!
ReplyDeletethink I'll go be like gertrude!
boy, one blogger down with the flu, another dazed and confused ... and I spent my morning with Alzheimer sufferers. Great day, all around.
ReplyDelete(The question about the light fixture's thoughts is just too deep for me. Let us know if a light bulb goes off in your head?)
Cheers.
It is frightening to think that decisions are made by frequently sleep deprived and confused people!
ReplyDeleteClouds ~ I love them.
ReplyDelete~~~ I'm having a Pay It Forward on my blog. Stop by if you're interested ~~~
I agree. The country and the world would be a better place if only our Leaders would go for longer walks.
ReplyDeleteLindsay would be glad to help if any of them were interested.
"What is this street light thinking about?"
ReplyDeleteI loved that thought. There IS something in the air, I think. My work schedule is uncharacteristically slammin' for this time of year. I'm even going in on my days off this week to get caught up. Threads of a retreating Mercury retrograde?
Interesting premise, to consider what contemplation might have occurred if past presidents took long, long walks, actually altering the course of history. Sometimes it feels like everything changes in the course of a walk.
ReplyDeleteToday would be a good day for us to sit down and have that glass of wine - we could inspire one another.
ReplyDeletedear Reya, I hope you have a restful day and some lovely walks with Jake to clear the head.xx
ReplyDeleteNo time to think. I believe that's most of us during our working years, our raising family years, our productive days. You are so right about the need to ponder big decisions, the need to walk and think without buzzing devices constantly tethering us. REgarding the massage? I need one right one. Maybe a virtual one?
ReplyDeleteHarry Truman was the last president who was free to walk around the city.
ReplyDeleteThe sequestering of the presidents, while necessary, is really a bad thing. I feel sorry for them, actually, under all that pressure, so visible and focal.
Sorrier for the rest of us, though.
Except right now we have a president who likes to think before he makes decisions. I wonder if he paces back and forth inside the White House? It would be better than nothing, I guess.
Maybe not in the air, but I think there's something in cyberspace. I started my blog entry today with For some reason, I am unable to keep up with the world this week - I think a spa retreat is called for.
ReplyDeleteSandra - How about a blogger spa retreat? Wouldn't that be fun??
ReplyDeleteI've not got a clear head either, but your eloquence astounds even now...I hope you can enjoy your down time.
ReplyDeleteSome times are like that, I think. I'm feeling a bit foggy and tired, too.
ReplyDeletehope you found down time to just think...thinking is everything. xxx j ps word veri is mutst..the little veri man's way of saying MUST THINK.
ReplyDeleteme again.. have a look at my blog, you have been "splashed" :)
ReplyDeleteThe title threw me off for a second, I thought you were going to blog about Led Zeppelin's timeless tune. But no, your column was very interesting reading because sometimes we become dazed by deeds done in our name by our governments. And we pay the price. Thanks for such a powerful reminder.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.
hey reya, there are lots of nice things about foggy cloudy days and minds. one of them is the gentling of the space around you. and then when it becomes much the same inside you.
ReplyDeleteblurry, indistinct.
and then shapes emerge, ideas arrive, and the world reveals itself to you again, for the first time!
enjoy your peaceful time!!
steven