Morning reflection

Every stimulus we encounter is filtered through the content of our individual brains.

Different content; different perceptions - no right or wrong.

Every individual has something of value to offer.

We cannot control the experiences and perceptions of another. What each of us can do is to try and live life as we each believe it ought to be. If another's experience of us is perceived as being of value, s/he might choose to incorporate that perspective into hi/r own.

And at the same time, we can each observe the other with an open mind, and perhaps decide to take in any compelling part of what we see into our own perspective.

Happy camping

Annie

Just wondering, Is there truly a beginning and end to this spectrum?
Or is it a limited, two-dimensional representation - like a flattened out map of the world?

Maybe this "map" comes closer, in a sense:


Still another two-dimensional image, but if you think of them together...

Is violet the beginning and red the end of opposite poles?
Is there a good end or a bad end? Is one color more important of valuable than the other? Is one color more developed or evolved than the others?

Or are they all equal points in a spectrum.

I think I like this concept better than thinking of shades of grey between black and white.

Yes, I get that my head is taking me in strange directions this morning - just me being me again.

One time a very nice gentleman reviewed my Wooffer stories. He wrote to me that I was wrong in the story of Camille because if you mix all the colors together you will get white. I explained that only pertained to mixing colors of light in the visual spectrum but if you mix all the colors of paint you will get black.

Love, Betty

So you were not wrong - just looking from a different perspective?

And black and white are not opposites but complements?

I like your perspectives, Betty. Do you mind if I add them to mine?

Annie

That used to upset me as a child. I would start with water colors, rinsing the brush in the same water. When I went back to the paints over time, they all ended up black.

It is great to have an open mind; however, sometimes information is needed by all parties in order to process and event. Often disputing parties have unequal amounts of information; someone needs to fill the gap.

A rainbow would suggest that there is a beginning and an end to the spectrum, otherwise the rainbow would not start and end with the same colours. This is a photo of a double rainbow taken by my mother. The farm buildings in the background are where my grandmother was born.

What an exquisite picture!

Beautiful! What an inspiring place to have in your history, Shelagh.

But I wonder if what we see with our eyes isn't an illusion of beginning and end, caused perhaps by the limitations of our horizon - something to think about, though.

Light is formed in waves. The spectrum is a wave of light. Instead of a circle, violet meets red like this:



Finding the pot of gold will lead you round in circles if you follow this rainbow (which is actually a sundog (halo around the sun):

Great picture, Shelagh.
Ann, concerning having an open mind, that is where the problem exists. Many say they have an open mind, but simply don't. They already have pre-conceived ideas that overshadow anything one says. They are open to opinions that mirror their own. That appears to be the case with the issue on the M.E. When one has seen with their own eyes, and know people who are or have lived under occupation, the perspective is not something easily translated. Disbelief overrules truth. Some are not interested in truth simply because they are uninterested in the issues and want them to simply go away. Commenting on an issue without knowledge of facts or without a truly open mind is a waste of time.

Shelagh, could you consider this?

"What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning."
T. S. Eliot

Abe, friend, let it go.

Ah, if something ends, then something else must be beginning. You can't make a fresh start without ending the old ways. All too often, we slip back into our old ways through familiarity and habit. True endings and beginnings are a rare thing, especially as we grow old.

I seem to be reaching an end in my writing career, and I'm looking forward to a new beginning. I don't write because I have a passion for writing and love to sit in front of my computer writing stories that no one wants to read. I write because I enjoy the challenge of it. I like to play with ideas, thoughts, complexities and juxtapositions. Pulling together all the parts of a story into an ending that fits everything that went before is satisfying and rewarding. However, it is becoming obvious that my stories do not have mass appeal. Readers want me to write differently to the way I write. They don't want to buy the stories I write, to the extent that I no longer want to write them. By the end of this year, I will have no projects going forward. My work is done. I'm looking forward to 2013 and a new beginning.

I agree that letting go of the old is necessary for the new to begin. It isn't always easy. I will be sad for a bit. I like your stories and the way you write them.

You have hinted that you are working on a "new beginning" before. Any chance you are willing to share?

My husband plans to retire next year. He is currently writing another text book that should be finished by the beginning of May next year and published in 2014. Since 2002, I have filled in the hours left to me while he spent time writing books at home. I used to paint and draw, but replaced that with writing/editing/publishing. With both of us spending less time sitting in front of a keyboard, we should have more time to do things together: new beginnings.

Sounds great, Shelagh. Bon Voyage!

Ah, you must travel to Florida!

Shelagh, I share your views of a new beginning. The things of the past no longer appeal. Letting go isn't easy. I realize that letting go cannot be done all at once. I will let go of posting things that interest me, but tend to irritate others. I will still be concerned about things that are important to me and share them selectively.

I'm only 73 turning 74 in January. I figure I got another 10 to 20 years left to do something that will benefit others. I am not looking for a new career, but rather for a new beginning for the rest of my life. A life filled with things I want to do and not what someone else feels I should do. I shan't do anything unless I feel like it. That is a promise to myself.

I looked at the vineyards yesterday as we wrapped up the picking. The various colors of leaves across the hills and valleys was wonderful to see. As the leaves die, they show a beautiful color. I hope I can show some color before I drop from the vine. I expect the cycle of rebirth to take place in all things.

"Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow....."