I think it's true. I think our bodies change the shape of the space between us. I think our breath alters the chemistry of the air we inhale. I think what we remember later is filtered through the hazy screens of our sensing organs and mesh strainers of memory. I think the real-time, physical exchange is a thing unto itself because it is not made only of words. I think words are highly overrated. What I love about poetry is that the words are only arrows pointing in the direction of some other thing. Perhaps all of Zoom is a form of poetry and we are mistaking it for linear communication. I know this to be true; as Zoom is an art form like all others. Telephone is to Zoom as cafe chat is to lecture hall as Shakespeare is to Kabuki. We are all in the room together at the same time at all times forever. But most of us are not so at ease with eternity/infinity to know this and also live finite lives composed of hours and days, grocery lists, and medical bills. A body is a container in the shape of a body, but it is porous, and also made mostly of space held loosely together for a bit of time. Truth is a verb; a stone is not always one.
Julie, Thank you for your beautiful reflection. I love this: "A body is a container in the shape of a body, but it is porous, and also made mostly of space held loosely together for a bit of time. " I was at a memorial yesterday and was thinking of this too...what leaves when our body leaves and what stays. Also, some of what you share about the shapes shifting between us as we shift the air also makes me think about "thought forms" and Annie Besant's spiritualist lens on such. When I started moving my arts practice away from the studio I still considered myself a sculptor because of how we inform one one other and the lives we create.
I think it's true. I think our bodies change the shape of the space between us. I think our breath alters the chemistry of the air we inhale. I think what we remember later is filtered through the hazy screens of our sensing organs and mesh strainers of memory. I think the real-time, physical exchange is a thing unto itself because it is not made only of words. I think words are highly overrated. What I love about poetry is that the words are only arrows pointing in the direction of some other thing. Perhaps all of Zoom is a form of poetry and we are mistaking it for linear communication. I know this to be true; as Zoom is an art form like all others. Telephone is to Zoom as cafe chat is to lecture hall as Shakespeare is to Kabuki. We are all in the room together at the same time at all times forever. But most of us are not so at ease with eternity/infinity to know this and also live finite lives composed of hours and days, grocery lists, and medical bills. A body is a container in the shape of a body, but it is porous, and also made mostly of space held loosely together for a bit of time. Truth is a verb; a stone is not always one.
Julie, Thank you for your beautiful reflection. I love this: "A body is a container in the shape of a body, but it is porous, and also made mostly of space held loosely together for a bit of time. " I was at a memorial yesterday and was thinking of this too...what leaves when our body leaves and what stays. Also, some of what you share about the shapes shifting between us as we shift the air also makes me think about "thought forms" and Annie Besant's spiritualist lens on such. When I started moving my arts practice away from the studio I still considered myself a sculptor because of how we inform one one other and the lives we create.