Plato, You Vex Me

Hi All,
If you want to read some truly mind-blowing stuff, check out This Post. Plato over there wrote the most insane, trippy, wacked-out philosophical thing I have read since, well, possibly ever. Plato, as I'm calling this blog author, is actually a 56 year old guy named 'Bubba' out in 'Bamy. But he reads a lot of trippy Grateful Dead literature; hence the wacky theories. :) ha ha I'm kidding. I have to devote this post to you, Manatee! You totally blow my mind.

Seriously, check out that latest post, cause it's so deep, I had to read it three times to understand it. But then, I've been reading 'Choose Your Own Adventure' books. Well, that and I've been watching 'Schoolhouse Rock' tapes. 'Grammar Rock;' what a classic! (Actually, I haven't been doing either of those things, but I wish I was.)

So it got me to thinking. And we know how dangerous that can be!

The commentary was:

I 'think' it had something to do with finding really clear, lucid moments in the past and remembering things exactly as they were at one specific point in time.

"Key to this task is locating a physical object that has a strong emotional resonance to it."

Here's my idea about that. I'm a very (VERY) sentimental person, right. Up until therapy a few years ago I had EVERY SINGLE LETTER, CARD, MAGAZINE, OR STUFFED ANIMAL THAT I HAVE EVER BEEN GIVEN, in my entire life. Since I was born till I was thirty. And even though I've cleaned out a lot (even the Star Wars stuff, believe it or not!), I still could pick up any given thing that I own and tell you a memory associated with it.

One great blessing of being Obsessive-Compulsive is that you generally have an incredible memory. That coupled with a compulsive desire to sentimentalize everything leads to a lot of vivid, realistic memories. Name any song; any song that I have ever heard, and I can attach a memory to it. Name a movie, any movie, and I can usually give you the year, who I was with, and how I felt about the experience. Name a book, and I can tell you where I was when I read it, and how it occupied my mind long after. I'm not an encyclopedia, so sure, there may be some things I actually lose memory of. Like my entire fourth grade year of school. I have only one memory of that entire year. I'd love to know why that is, when I can remember other things sooo clearly.

Which brings me back to my point about Plato's post. He advises to find a strong memory like that. I have millions of those memories. What do I pick? My favorite memory of all time, possibly, is the one I mention most. I was four, and I sat there in the theater watching the X Wings fly down the Death Star trenches in 'Star Wars.' By today's standards, that trick was nothing more than a roller coaster ride down a trench. But if you put that film on, I don't care where it is, or where I am, I am not a 32 year old woman. I'm a 4 year old kid. Sitting there, with utter wonder in my little mind. This is why Lucas cannot effectively do 'Special Editions' of those films; he can never override the memory of a child who saw that and was overwhelmed by it.

"Emotional markers, rarely unchanged by time, make the best vehicles."

I have so many emotional markers, Crayola should name one after me. I am nothing if not an emotional marker! In fact, this is one of my great struggles in life. I have to learn to NOT be such an emotional and overly-sensitive type. Because when I over-emote, I can get too attached. And when I get too attached, it's unhealthy, according to every therapist in the land. There's a line, I guess. I just need to learn not to put attachments on everthing.

But Plato warns:

"Too much exposure can result in adverse effects for the user, such as becoming mired in the moments of the past. The intoxicating effects of nostalgia and sentimentality are potent, and potentially lethal."

Well! Plato hit the nail on the head with this one. Lethal! Literally. This is an incredibly long story, and not one I care to go into here, but my whole life revolved around some very potent and all-consuming memories which at times threatened my very existence. It wasn't until I understood that the past does not have to chain my heart that I actually learned I could breathe on my own. Before that, I always wanted others to help me breathe. I'm just using that as a metaphor; more accurate would be to say, I wanted others to help me calm my spirit. Not to worry; I learned to do that on my own. But it sure did take a lot out of me, letting those memories choke me.

And not only do I have vivid memories of the past, but I get vivid pictures of the future in my head, too. Do I ever live in the moment? Well, I try. The way my mind works is, I have overriding thoughts that will dictate what I think, and I can't stop these from coming in there. Once there, the only resolution is to flood my mind with this thought so much, the mind gets bored with it. So eventually, it goes away. But while it's there, I can't do much to change that. So if my mind wants to dwell on a past or future thought, I don't have a way to counteract that. As my time here progresses, I try to learn to reprogram the way I think. I try to turn off that switch. It's hard when the wires get fused.

But Plato's closing words tell us to use these past memories "sparingly."

Aha! Therin lies my problem. I don't know how to use these things "sparingly."
There are plenty of people who like to reminisce about the past. My family does it every time I see them. Bean and I do it all the time about the 80's. And I think it's okay to look into the future and have goals, dreams, and desires. I guess the key is to find a balance. The key is to use the good moments to help you learn and grow, and just enjoy life in general. The bad, well, that's the flip side. The perfect man had a perfect life, after all, until He was murdered. So even He had a flip side to His experience.

I personally like the dark and the light. I tend to love the dark the most, but I keep that part of me hidden deep inside someplace a lot of the time. The light, well, that's the fun part. I'm glad I get to experience and embrace both.

Did this make any sense? haha Plato really made me dwell. Damn him! haha
"He excels at that." (C-3PO, talking about R2 being 'trouble.')

In other news, we watched 'Final Destination 3' and got some good laughs at all of the incredibly violent deaths. They were over-the-top, lest you think we are sadly desensitized girls. It was pretty entertaining, so I wouldn't call it a total loss. Bean says the first two were much better, though. It dealt with Fate and the inevitability of Death, which was a cool theme, I thought. It also dealt with a girl who had visions of the future deaths. Well, I'm glad I don't have THOSE ideas about the future!

I am thoroughly exhausted NOW, after this rant. I hope it has made a tiny bit of sense. Thanks, Manatee, Plato, for the thought-provoker. I feel positively idiotic in your midst. Or, perhaps I'm just idiotic in general. haha JK

Have a great day, All.

And DO try to swim upstream, or look for Eddie Vedder, or fly faster than a speeding bullet.
Or don't write rants at 1:00 am.

;)