Of course I do have a moment or two- we all do, if we can only slow our minds long enough to take that moment. I looked up quotes in an attempt to tie my thoughts to something so that I could write coherently here, and of course Virginia Woolf provided the best words:
"My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery- always buzzing, humming, soaring, roaring, diving, and then buried in the mud. And why? What's this passion for?" [You can find this quote and a brief bio here]
She wrote this in a letter, and certainly her mind was much more active and much more flurried than my own. But I can't help but feel what she meant (that is part of why I love her so much- it as if I can feel what she means).
Your mind, your heart, your everything is racing by at a hundred miles a minute, thinking of all the things to do, all the things yet undone, and why?
Perhaps the question of why is far too much for me to address in this particular moment. Suffice it to say that I do not think that we stop to think about the why that motivates us quite as much as we should. What is that passion that motivates us? Most of what we do moment by moment or day by day is not directly related to our passions, but it is good to remember, every once in a while, what it is that our passions are, so that we do not waste too much time buzzing about with things that are ultimately not what moves us.
The past week and a half has been exceptionally busy, and I know that the next two weeks will be as well. I am a bit overwhelmed with all the buzzing in my head, and am trying not to get buried in the mud. I feel a little bit behind on every little thing- assignments, research for classes and individual research, taxes, CLS prep, keeping up with family and friends, etc. etc. But there is always an end in sight. More importantly, I don't want to rush to the end, I want to enjoy the journey as well. Sometimes that just takes more focus than I am capable of at the moment.
Very, very soon I will have to officially start recruiting for my ethnographic methods assignment. I have done a little bit of haphazard recruitment in order to complete my weekly assignments, but I will need to obtain surveys and interviews from people in their twenties regarding their health behavior, their perception of illnesses-specifically cancer- and their cancer experience. If any of my readers would be willing to participate it would be extremely helpful and, of course, completely private/confidential. This isn't going to be published anywhere and is only for in class and practice purposes, but I hope that it will provide me with ideas and maybe a general framework for my long-term research later on.
It has been a very work focused week and the coming week will be as well- perhaps even more so. I won't outline it all here- it would be more constructive to actually go work on it than ramble on about it here!
So that is what I will move on to...though I haven't shared a photo yet. Of course I haven't taken a single picture this week. However, I have been meaning to write a post regarding one of my favorite artists for quite a while now. I have not gotten around to it yet mostly because I haven't gotten to scanning enough samples of her work, but she does have some of them online. You can look at some of them here and I do have a few scanned versions of some of her ink drawings. Like all art, they are of course better in person, but I think you can get a decent feel for her style and uniqueness by looking at them digitally. And of course forgive my scanner for bad cropping. She is thinking about getting prints made, so if you see something you like or would like to see more, leave a comment here or shoot me a message and let me know. I have plenty more to scan and upload.
Anyway, here are a few original pieces from Karma Rhodes to help us kick off our new week. ;)
Have a great Monday everyone!
This is probably my favorite post of yours to date. Your deconstruction of the meaning behind Woolf's words is truly significant for me, as someone who suffers from OCD and depression, and has, over the past year or so, sought to revitalize his passions.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would be interested in participating in your study. Just let me know when you'd like to schedule the survey(s)/interview.
As for your sister's artwork, it sets my heart afire and my mind awhirl. Great stuff. I'd love to adorn my apartment with at least one of her pieces. :-)
Erm the below comment was supposed to be a reply to you but I messed up so...see below :D
DeleteThanks Mikal! I am glad you enjoyed reading. You might like some of Virginia Woolf's essays- or perhaps her very abstract novel The Waves. The Waves is kind of difficult to get through, but, from my perspective, it is a great commentary on "the waves" and tides of life, growth and time, and how we interact with other people throughout our lives.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being willing to participate! As soon as I get all my final versions of things sorted out we should definitely talk. Maybe the last week of March? When is Spring break for you?
I am sure Sissy would love to hear that! I will make sure I get some more of her work digitized so you have some options to pick from :D
I hope you are doing well! And hopefully I will see you when I'm back in Richmond!
Since I have just gotten around to reading this wonderful post of yours - if you'll have me, I would love to be an interviewee for you as well. AND I'm still waiting on my own piece of work from your Sis, she's so wonderfully talented :)
ReplyDeleteI would love to have you as an interviewee! :D It would be wonderful to talk to you. I am going to run surveys first and will hit survey creation this week so I will shoot you and Mikal some details ASAP!
DeleteI think you said you liked her mermaid piece, is that right? I need to scan more of her stuff so you can officially pick one out...Perhaps I will personally deliver it ;)