Time moves so quickly!

Perception is a strange thing. For instance, when taking a test I swear the seconds turn into minutes, yet when I'm enjoying time with my wife the hours turn into seconds. How is that? The old saying, "Time flies when you're having fun" definitely applies, but our sense of time passing can't possibly be that unreliable ... can it?

When I was actively pursuing martial arts (I still do, but can't devote my entire activity anymore), there were certainly occasions during simulated combat where time nearly stopped and it was like being inside a Matrix film. What happens is your brain is so hyper-focused and aware that its processing at a speed totally abnormal to usual life ... which has the result of stretching those times to ludicrous levels. So, it follows that when you aren't as hyper-alert--such as enjoying a date with your sweetheart--that time simply rushes past without your awareness.

As we age, we tend to relax in our daily lives. The world isn't as great a mystery to us, so we let our attention slacken. So, again, the youthful have an advantage in time (though I doubt they feel the same way about it). What's fascinating is hearing people complain about not enough time, or things going too slowly. We all know that time doesn't change, so why fuss? Maybe it's because we regret lost opportunity? Perhaps we yearn for an event to happen? Whatever the reason, time isn't as stiff a concept as math suggests. Our perceptions color everything we experience, including how long it takes to finish a test, or enjoy a circus.

- M

Origami ... where art and fun collide.

An origami rose
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Have you ever made a paper hat, or boat, or frog, or replica of the painting "St. George and the Dragon." Origami is the art of folding paper. I pretty much stopped at making a paper gift box, so I couldn't even call myself a beginner. However, I've seen some of these works and am truly astonished at the possibilities. There are pieces of origami so complex and artful that they are considered priceless ... wow.

Do a quick search online and you'll discover galleries of origami that will challenge your definition of paper folding. How is it possible to achieve some of these designs? I doubt I could replicate these things in clay, much less paper. Absolutely incredible. And, if you've examined how they are made--using wet paper, multiple pages, alchemy and magic--then you know how fantastically impossible they are. I honestly can't imagine ever doing it, even if I was immortal and spent all my days trying.

For these reasons, I find origami fun and enjoyable, but also a form of art that's impenetrable by most human beings. I'm sure most anyone could at least paint something on canvas, or carve a thingie from wood, or even screech out a tune on an instrument, but delicately folding paper into Chinese dragons and spectacularly lifelike swans is so far beyond those others that it's hard to believe anyone can do it at all. Okay, I admit to exaggeration, however origami is definitely art and I love seeing the really good stuff. I suppose it's akin to my fascination with Bonsai trees (also an art, but it's more like a dance within nature itself), in that I love delicate treasures. Maybe someday I'll learn ... maybe.

- M

Silencing the mystery...

Being mysterious is a great character trait for surly wizards and drifting gunfighters. However, it gets tiresome quickly. Within stories it's not so bad. Gandalf is rarely straightforward about his plans and methods, yet we love him as a character. Sherlock Holmes has practically no back story, is frustratingly scarce with his thoughts, and yet he is the model detective. Belle, from Beauty and the Beast, is only known for being kind and a fan of reading while the rest is a mystery.

However, if we met these sorts of people in regular life, we'd either tear their heads off in frustration or ignore them completely. It's awfully hard to get to know someone who's hiding behind a veil of mystery. I've tried to figure out why some people do this, and I have to admit complete failure--unless the answer is these people are auditioning for parts in movies. In full disclosure, I've used this tactic in the past to get out of circumstances I didn't like, and discovered it's really mentally exhausting to keep this up for very long.

Stories trade in mystery as part of the essentials of plot. If everything is explained and up front immediately, then why bother working through the story at all? So, yes, mysterious characters in stories are great. I love knowing Sherlock Holmes is ahead of me, or that Belle reads and loves so readily. Why should everything be explained? Life is hardly so kind, so I don't want my stories to be either. Yes, let loose the mysteries!

- M

Over or under, the great bathroom debate.

How is it possible that such a simple aspect of life can become such a topic for conflict? I'm talking about toilet paper of course. Does it go up and over, or under? This is such a thorny issue that it many times becomes more disagreeable than putting down the toilet seat--another tricky issue. Isn't it amazing how bent out of shape some people get about such topics? Kinda hard to believe, but relationships have been torn apart due to things as goofy as this. Can't we all just get along?


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Take a look at your own life, and tell me there aren't little things that upset you. My wife and I can now laugh about one of my little idiosyncrasies--closing cabinet doors, ugh, I was such an idiot back then. Maybe it's having furniture in certain position, or books out of sequence, or tools in their correct place? Yes, obsessive compulsion could be part of it, but I think we don't like whatever order we've created being disrupted by someone else. It's a matter of control.

Does control mean so much to us, that we can't allow toilet paper to be "wrong?" Pretty silly when you think about it that way. Cheer up, though, since there's hope for you yet! Spot the craziness in your life and cut it out. See, easy. Does it really matter if you have to roll the toilet paper a different direction? I know you love your car, but does a tiny scratch on the paint ruin your life? Don't let it wreck your life. There are lots of things more important, and dare I say it ... nearly everything is more important.

Don't sweat the little things; put your energy into what truly matters.

- M

Days fly by so fast now, I wonder why I ever thought time went by slowly?

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Today is Tuesday? Wow, what happened to Monday? Wait ... did I go to work?

 

When I was younger, it seemed like the calendar never made it to Saturday. Clocks had painted-on dials. And, my dad's lectures would never end (yup, my children, I know the feeling well--it's my pleasure to pass it along). Somewhere along the line of my life, time has shifted its nature and turned into a cannonball that refuses to slow down. I close my eyes for a little rest and open them just in time to go to bed. I enjoy my weekend, only to discover I missed my blog post and it's Tuesday. And, I go to turn the page on my calendar, only to realize I'm three months behind!

 

Yes, little children, old people really do experience time in a strange manner. I'm not sure how it works, but somehow time behaves at radically different speeds. Maybe if Einstein had worked on my time theory we could have even greater discoveries beyond the measley E=MC(squared)--yes, that's a joke, but maybe we'd find out where socks go in the dryer because their behavior isn't possible either. Sure, I'm fully aware it's all in how we pay attention, yet there is a definite truism that as you age you'll find time passing swifter and faster as it rushes along.

 

It's enjoyable to poke fun at how we experience time. Yup, boring tasks take forever, whereas a wonderful swimming pool party lasts only moments. When we are fully engaged at work and busy, time is fleeting, but toss a load of dull things to do and the clock never moves. If you've noticed, there aren't clocks in doctor's offices--because if there were, you'd easily notice how long you've been waiting. How about the snooze feature of alarms? Why is it there? Does an extra 5 minutes of sleep really matter? If not, then why do we hit snooze? If it does, then why set the alarm so early? I know people who set their clock 10 minutes fast, so they trick themselves into thinking they're almost late ... they also probably play a great game of Hide and Seek with themselves...

 

- M

The power of feeling with all your senses

I bet you didn't expect a squirrel smelling a flower!

There's a neat science fiction movie called "Equilibrium" in which the society markedly eliminates all feelings. I'm not sure why it didn't become really popular, because it's an excellent movie (also with a really cool idea called the "gun kata" which mixes martial arts and guns, hilariously stylized and ridiculously awesome). The central theme is: who are we without our emotions? It's not the first time science fiction, or fiction in general, has tackled such an idea. The question is a good one and definitely worthy of dedicated attention.

 

Nope. I won't get into that here.

 

What I will do is ask: when was the last time you set yourself free and allowed yourself to really feel? There's a restaurant in California called "The Opaque" where you eat in a totally dark room, waited on by blind waiters, with the idea that if you take away sight then food is magnified to the other senses. How about taking away sound and watching a play? Do you then use your other senses more acutely? Take the exercise to all the senses. What happens?

 

I think we take our senses for granted. Maybe we don't even fully realize their true potential. I do know that if I close my eyes and hold my wife's hand that it's warm and alive and far more magical than if I only look. At the same time, why is it that I can hold a picture of my wife's smiling face and stretch out my fingers to caress her cheek? Our senses offer much more than tiny pieces around us, they gift unto us a reality of the world that is truly breathtaking if you take the time to appreciate it.

 

- M

Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and any other cryptozoology you can think of.

Mysteries surround us in the actual real world, especially if you want to find them and are willing to believe in them. It's sort of like Peter Pan, where if you believe in fairies they will live. Clap, clap, clap. Sure, I'll believe. Why not? It certainly doesn't harm anything to keep an open mind about such things. What I find really interesting is examining the ideas and concepts that the true believers bring out. It reminds me of oral ghost stories, or tall tales.

 

When mysteries are big enough, grand enough, or bombastic enough, they take on a life of their own and keep going even when they shouldn't. That's why I'd bet everyone recognizes immediately the picture I've shown. Sure, it's the Loch Ness Monster. The myth is so huge now that the whole world knows it. Stories are like that.

 

I'm sure every writer desires to craft a world that people enjoy so much that the fiction creates new life beyond itself. In a modern sense we all watched it happen with the Harry Potter stories. Despite my studies of the phenomenon I really am no closer to understanding the why's or how's. I'd love to know a recipe of how to create a worldwide myth. Maybe it's on YouTube, or a TED talk. Probably it's a case of great timing combined with a great story and twisted together with the whimsy of fate. Who knows?

 

I wonder if we'll ever get a definitive answer regarding the myths of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster? One can hope.

 

- M

Weird animals, strange creatures, and untold amusement

There are critters in this world that are so weird it's hard to believe they even exist. Take the woodpecker for instance--why is there a bird that bangs its head into trees in search of grubs? Or how about the platypus? Here's a mammal that lays eggs (mammals normally have live births), has a bill and lives mainly underwater (but, it can't keep its eyes open so it hunts blind), and it has poison toes (normally only seen in reptiles). It's like this creature's sole reason for existing is to toss expectation to the wind and buck the system.

A baby platypus

Mythology contains all sorts of strange creatures as well, and many are somewhat based on reality. I still feel that dragons have some kind of basis, otherwise why are they found in myths all over the world? Also, what about sea serpents? Certainly something brought about the stories. Experts have theories of course, and so do I, but stuff like this doesn't ever seem to be solved. That's fine with me, because, as a writer, I love coming up with reasons and letting my imagination run wild.

Sure, I'm easily amused, but taking the time to learn about these animals expands the world you live within. I thinks it's important to discover such things for yourself, and continue learning. Open your mind to new experiences, new information, and new joys. It's well worth the time and effort, and you'll learn more than you can imagine right now!

- M