A great math discussion got me thinking about symbols and symbolism, so naturally I'm seeing symbolism everywhere. A less great, but still useful discussion about space and space flight had me thinking about bonds and cages. That's a perfectly normal chain of thought 馃槀.
I was taking pictures of this stump for the many types of moss and fungus growing on it. None of this was staged, these chains were used to safely remove the rest of this tree from the stump you see, as well as some other nearby trees that were threatening the house. It's taken 3 years for them to end up in just this configuration. When I stepped back from my fungus pics, with visions of sybols and bonds swirling in my grey matter, I saw this old scene with fresh eyes and this post was inspired.
On the lowest step of this stump is just an ordinary old chain. We are all born with symbolic chains, binding to family, location, status... They can be different weights and lengths, and even though they're symbolic, they can hold us in place just as surely as iron shackles. We start out bonded to the people who care for us and keep us alive. As we grow, we make new relationships that add more chains. We become chained by our biases, and sometimes we become chained to our locations.
I was fortunate enough to understand at an early age how I was limitied by my situation, and even by my own thoughts. I was able to see the chains clearly, but many people will have chains around their perceptions. Once you can see your chains, they can be assessed. Some chains will anchor you in place, or bind you to people you wish to have in your life. These chains should be kept, as long as they help you. Other chains limit us, or weigh us down, and these are better removed and left behind.
On the next step up, there's a small pile of binders, which are tools used to tighten chains. As we recognize and begin sorting our chains, we'll often need to look for tools to tighten the ones we wish to keep, and to remove the ones we wish to lose. It's also important to know that when we remove chains from ourselves that are held by other people, they can use tools to tighten the chains they've put on you.
Figuring out which chains to keep, which chains to tighten, which to loosen, and which to cast off... this is the messy part of life. How well we manage our assets, and our bonds to other people, usually determines where we end up in life. Of course, you never know when some stray chain (that had nothing to do with you with you) will come flying through your space and take your head off. This is the nature of our fragility... even when it seems like we hold the contols over everything in our lives, some other force can put an end to it abruptly.
On the tallest stump is a chain hoist, another tool used to move heavy weights with ease. Normally, they are fastened to an overhead support and used to lift things up. If we've managed our lives well, and haven't been beset by unmanageable disaster, most of us at the top of our lives will have as many chains holding us things we see as 'secure' as we can. We spend our lives mangaging chains that will hold us in place, or tow the things we desire along with us as we move. Many of us at this point will be holding others up (or down) with our chains.
As we find ourselves at the 'control' end of more chains, it is easy to lose sight of the people at the other end of them. We have to stay aware of how our chains work for or against others, and we have to stay aware of how they are trying to affect the chains as well. Some people will happily pull your whole support down while trying to loosen their own chains. We always have to re-examine the chains under our control to be sure we're not holding on to things that aren't worth the effort.
People who never see their chains will still feel the weight of them. They end up living at the whims of others, unable to exercise any control over forces they refuse to see. So many of us are told 'Ignore it and it will go away!' as children. This line of thinking is a chain designed to keep you blind; ignoring things just allows them to gather strength while you're unaware. The only problems that go away by ignoring them were never problems in the first place.
As the title suggests, I wanted this post to hit 1000 words. Normally, this isn't a problem me at all. Usually, I'm looking at a 2000 word draft and wondering 'How much of this is actually important?'
After answering that question, I have to delete everything and start over 馃榿
Maybe it's a kind of performance anxiety. Is there a Viagra that keeps your word flow up? Viagra represents a very interesting pile of chains... the chains most men forge to their genitalia. I've always found it funny how much most American men tie their confidence, their happiness, even their value to their partners... to their dick. It's funny because most other people won't use your dick to measure any of those qualities.
Everyone is out here wanting a bigger dick, but if you call someone a dick, they're probably acting small and petty. No wonder there are so many dick jokes.
Anybody still hanging in there? Should I have led with the dick jokes? Did any of you start looking at your own chains for the first time, or start seeing them a little more clearly? Forge a little chain with me, and give me a follow, I'll be full of metaphorical advise and dick jokes. Did you find some insight, or get a little laugh? Show your appreciation with a vote. Don't put a lot of weight into that vote though. I measure the success of my posts in votes and engagement, not Hive rewards or other tokens that I understand even less about.
