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 26 Apr 2005 @ 19:34, by Tlingel
...but who cares?
"Most civilization is based on cowardice. It's so easy to civilize by teaching cowardice. Your water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame."
—Frank Herbert, "God Emperor of Dune"
I chanced on a wonderful book by Marius von Senden, called Space and Sight. . . . For the newly sighted, vision is pure sensation unencumbered by meaning:
"The girl went through the experience that we all go through and forget, the moment we are born. She saw, but it did not mean anything but a lot of different kinds of brightness."
. . . In general the newly sighted see the world as a dazzle of color-patches. They are pleased by the sensation of color, and learn quickly to name the colors, but the rest of seeing is tormentingly difficult. . . . The mental effort involved . . . proves overwhelming for many patients. It oppresses them to realize, if they ever do at all, the tremendous size of the world, which they had previously conceived of as something touchingly manageable. . . . A disheartening number of them refuse to use their new vision, continuing to go over objects with their tongues, and lapsing into apathy and despair. . . . On the other hand, many newly sighted people speak well of the world, and teach us how dull is our own vision.
—Annie Dillard, "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek"
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Category: Red Rose
1 comment
1 May 2005 @ 21:27 by swan : I wrote a poem when I was in my 20's
about how I was already taking things for granted and missing the juicey details of life. The poem woke me up and now I try not to miss the newness in everyday, in what I hear, feel, see, taste...I care.
Other entries in Red Rose
26 Nov 2006 @ 00:07: Det Perfekte Menneske: Obstruction #3
14 Nov 2006 @ 23:05: To see the world in a grain of sand...
14 Apr 2005 @ 01:10: Forever Young
6 Apr 2005 @ 19:47: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
31 Mar 2005 @ 23:48: Soul for sale?
27 Feb 2005 @ 05:06: Web of Thread
27 Feb 2005 @ 01:48: Spirited Away
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