Monday, December 29, 2008

On Art’s Twisted Way

Art can be appreciated in so many different ways due to the countless way in which one can create it. Art is indefinable because anything can be considered so depending on who is judging it. As a result, those who enjoy art fall into different categories. There are those who admire art. Then, there are those who love art. There are also those who desire art. There are those others who have a crave art. Finally, there are those who need art. Although superficially these people seem to be the same, they are different art consumers. They do indeed share certain characteristics, but that does not render them the equal.
Those who admire art, well, admire it. They enjoy going to museums in particular to look around the greatest creations of the artist from the past as well as those contemporary geniuses. These art admirers conform themselves to a life devoted to knowing about art because that will help them understand it; and, as a result, admire it from a better perspective. Art should never be undermined because as odd as it might sometimes appear, it is still art. Admiring art is an art in itself because not everyone is capable of endeavoring in such task. The people who admire art are committed to the artists’ creations without criticizing. They simply admire the art piece as it was created and take for granted that the artist did not fail in communicating the intended message. They do not question, only admire.
Then there is the rare breed of those who love art. They live for it. They breathe it. They eat it. They drink it. Their lives are about art. Art is their passion. These people are those whose houses are filled with art pieces of multiple kinds. They do not skimp when it comes to spending on a piece of art if the money is available to them. They do not much care for what others think about the art they collect. It is art to them, and that is what matters. Their love for art goes far beyond their love for anything else. Art is what their world revolves around.
There are also those who desire art. These people are a sort of mixture between those who admire it and those who love it. They enjoy museums and the like, but they are mostly unable to identify art if they see it on the streets. They love what they see at the museums, but since those pieces are generally unaffordable they go through life desiring art without realizing that there are others forms of art. They are unable to accept that there is more to art than those pieces that can only be admired at museums. Their desire for art does not live outside of the museums’ walls. That is the only art they desire. The only art they can recognize, which is way they constantly desire it unable to find that joy in the more simple art live provides.
Those who crave art are those who unconsciously desire it. This variety of people does not only crave the pieces of art that can be found in museum halls, but are also capable of recognizing other types of art when they see them. They crave art and do not much care on the kind of art they are able to admire or enjoy. They do not limit themselves to one kind of art. They have a very extensive imaginary catalogue of what can be considered art in order to satisfy their cravings. So long as it is art to them, they do not care much by which of their five senses it is experienced.
Finally, there are those who need art. These are the artists. They are those who create art because they need it to survive. Artists need art in order to continue breathing. They need it in order for their lives to have a purpose because without art their lives are meaningless. They do not care for others opinions about their art because the true artists do not create art with the expectation of approval or making a fortune. The true artists create art because it satisfies them. Art is what nurtures them and keeps them sane in this chaotic world.
Art is around in many different forms. Everyone enjoys it whether they recognize it or not. It is just that some people admire that at museums others admire the art of breathing under a new sunrise.

xoxo,
Poison Drops


©Copyrighted 2008

Monday, December 22, 2008

The Memory of a Forgotten Town

At first sight, it does not appear to have changed much over the years. The air is still as fresh as in years past. The sun continues to rise in the east and set in the west behind the hills. The rain still falls in the summer and the harvest occurs in the fall. The days are as warm as the nights, the same way they have always been. There are occasional cold days, but the inhabitants of the town know that those days will not last. The flora and the fauna have perhaps changed along with the landscape, but those changes are necessary. History continues to walk around the streets, but it cannot maintain the pace with the parade change leads.
The streets have changed. They are not longer filled with mud, they have now been paved with concrete in order to bury the shameful past of poverty outside the doors while it remains very well alive the moment one steps inside the houses. There are many people whom are not recognized because time has changed them beyond recognition or because they are new to those who sometimes return. The schools are not longer filled with children eager to learn though they remain waiting. Waiting they will remain because those children will not come because they have left to never return. Others will return but not to stay and continue their education on those in the past remodeled classrooms that once knew greatness. The children who remain are not enough to fill the classrooms that were once so full that the children did not fit in them. Hence, the remodeling projects from past decades.
The sky remains as blue as anyone can remember. The holidays are still celebrated punctually every year. The routine has not changed, yet those who celebrate them have. They are all guided by a different light and warmed by different sunrays. There are those who have never left and the constant returnees, who make the journey every year to enjoy the holidays on the town in question. There are those others who return once every few years due to different reasons but equally enjoy their time in the forgotten town. The important detail is that somehow they have all managed to remain connected despite distance and time.
The children have now adopted a different age policy. They have formed a non-agreed on council to grow older faster than how they naturally would whereas in the past childhood the most precious treasure anyone could have. Those were the days of joy when there was not any need to worry because the adults took care of every need. Children have now altered the game of life to change their freedoms and obligations for responsibilities that they do not need. Said responsibilities they would most likely regret once they actually understand what they have done because the games have not really changed and the rules remain the same whether renamed or not.
New beliefs walk around the streets; and, as monarchs that have conquered new territories, they strain themselves to gently and slowly but ruthlessly displaced the old traditions. It is a long-term project that many have come to accept and others refuse to recognize, but everyone consciously or not participates in the new regime.
Though apparently the town has not changed beyond the obvious, time will reveal the deep changes that have occurred. The mistakes of the presents seem to be aimed at redeeming the errors committed in the past, but there was not anybody whom openly expressed the need to redeem the past. There is indeed a need for improvement, but the changes currently occurring are not necessarily the ones that are desperately needed.
The ruins of the old town remain hidden under the shadows of the new town that rises over to reach the sky. It lies in the foundation of what the old town used to be: the town that is cherished by those who knew it, by those who enjoyed it in the past. It remains in the memories of those who inhabited while the senses of those who now enjoy its premises experience a different town.
At the end, the town has deeply changed, indeed. The town in which past generations have lived is not the one which the new generations enjoy. People speak of treasured memories of a town that only dimly outlines the shadow of the one that the new generations know.

xoxo,
Poison Drops


©Copyrighted 2008

Monday, December 15, 2008

The Eternal Girlfriend

It is well known that when a sentimental relationship between two people begins, the effort placed in it to make it work is great from both parties. However, as time passes by it seems that, in a heterosexual relationship, the man usually does not considered the same effort to be necessary. The woman, nevertheless, believes that such effort such be made on a daily basis. This is perhaps best illustrated with a couple that dates for a long time and their relationship seems to be the best there is. Yet, once they are married, all the details that made the relationship so great begin to vanish until they completely disappear. The man begins to exhibit a certain carelessness that then leads the woman to completely disregard him over a long period of time because she seems to have the hope that the situation will return to the past great times. There is not guarantee that by her doing what she always has done to show her now husband how much she cares, that he will change to be the man she first met when he used to put as much effort as her into the relationship. Marriage then is a sort of dreadful stage in the sentimental relationship between two people.
Marriage has always been seen as the ultimate stage of love. It has been considered as a way to culminate a relationship and seal it forever. The problem with this is that because every relationship and as a result every marriage is different there are not equal, then many people acquire the wrong idea of what it would mean to be married. Many people marry because they truly believe in marriage while others only do it for the thrill of it or the glamour of the wedding. Whatever the reason, most marriages end up the same: miserable. Do note that it does not mean all will reach that state, but many will do so. Marriage is not miserable because it is marriage but rather because of the way in which it molds people. Marriage tends to necessitate of certain characteristics in those who enter this new stage of their relationship and many people are not ready for such change despite their beliefs. Women have learned from time immemorial that they should please men in any way possible, which sadly, leads to the conclusion that if something is going inadequately, then it is due to their mistakes. This is something developed since birth. Girls are more responsive to gestures and read facial expressions. They learned what it means to be approved of without their parents or teachers actually saying anything to them. In adulthood, this translates into pleasing a man in order to acquire that approval. It is subconscious, but very harmful. That is why when a marriage is not going well, the woman never ceases to strain herself to make it work whereas the man simply gives up after perhaps trying to fix it once if at all. This is not the case during the relationship preceding the marriage. At that time, the effort is mutual.
During the relationship previous to marriage, men show more interest in it. They make a bigger effort to please the woman. They are more careful to remember dates and details, which is a capacity they lose after the marriage certificate is signed. It seems to be the case that marriage as a negative effect on them.
It should then be considered to redefine the institution of marriage into a sort of eternal engagement. This could in a way guarantee that both parties involved would put an effort into their relationship. Men would certainly be more involved rather than lose interest as they do once they are married and the thought that there is not anything to lose anymore possesses them. It would then be more romantic for a woman to be the eternal girlfriend as opposed to the wife. If the man would not just fall asleep on the relationship and the mutual effort would never cease.
Unfortunately, this seems rather unrealistic due to the patriarchal society we inhabit. It is practically impossible for men to accept this change since it would contradict their own ideals of power. If marriage were an eternal engagement, men would not necessarily enjoy the upper hand in the situation. Thus, all hope is lost since as Woody Allen said, “only unfulfilled love is romantic” which does not seem anywhere near to become part of reality.

xoxo,
Poison Drops


©Copyrighted 2008

Monday, December 8, 2008

Project Self

People walk through life indulging in the art of imitation without even realizing what they are doing. Most people believe that the persona they are at any given time is the original version of themselves, but that is not always the case. It is then very important that one is not a copy of someone else because that creates multiple problems of identity representation and appreciation. Such event is problematic because the gazes of those around one constructs who one is. Said gazes create the socially constructed image that constitutes someone’s existence. One is nothing if someone else doesn’t think so. False presentations of oneself whether purposely or not can create conflicts with other people. But so do the original versions. As a result, one must be very careful since the detail that is part of one’s persona, which fascinates others is only known to those who are charmed by it.
As one grows up, it is very easy to pick up traits from those around. In fact, that is the case more often than not. By the time one is old enough to understand that a personality has been adopted, it is too late to identify those parts of one’s personality that were not part of the original copy. Thus, naturally there is not anyone who is precisely an original copy. Everyone accommodates bits and pieces of those who have at some point formed part of their lives. Therefore, false presentations occur both purposely and not. If they are on purpose, then one should be able to face the consequences of the misrepresentation. But when they are not on purpose, it is difficult to understand the results that brings. One is not always aware that traits from those have been adopted, which renders difficult the task of presenting oneself as one truly is.
There is an important issue that arises from projecting oneself on a certain way; which leads to causing people to perceive one in a certain way. If this perception arises directly from whom one really is, then there should not be any worries of what others might think of one since such thoughts are a direct result of what one does. Yet, if people have a contradicting idea of who is, one could be doomed to ultimately become that person. One is what other people think one is not necessarily what one believes one is. It is difficult to arrive at a consensus because most of the time one does not realize what one gives off as a personality or representation of one’s own real self. Due to fear of rejection that might come if one shows one’s true colors, one accepts the new persona imposed by others. At the same time, one simply might find that other character more appealing than the original as do those around.
Another major problem is the fascination that one causes others. Such fascination comes as a result of the perception someone holds of one. Some people enjoy believing that they know what exactly causes it. But that fascination is caused by a particular detail of someone’s personality most of the time unknown to the one who causes the fascination. Such detail seems to be only known to that person who is charmed by it. If one moves through life mimicking someone else, soon there will be time when one is not admired, appreciated, nor respected for who one is, but rather for whom that person of, which one became the copy is.
Thus, misrepresentations and, as a result, misperceptions rise the question of whether one is appreciated (respected, loved, etc) for who one is or for whom other people want one to be or believe one to be. Then one could also begin to appreciate more whom one is due to other people’s influences and not the one whom one really is, which renders one’s true self purposeless. If not recognized, it becomes meaningless.
People become devoted to the idea of someone and not to that person. People recognize only those parts of someone’s imagine which they approve of. They are fascinated by a random idea not by something specific. Hence, if one is not the original version of oneself, one is deliberately taking the risk of never actually knowing oneself. The risk of molding others perceptions of one and as a result molding oneself to what others perceive.
One should not be a puppet of others’ views and desires. After all, one is not born with strings attached.

xoxo,
Poison Drops


©Copyrighted 2008

Monday, December 1, 2008

A Blueprint to Reality

Upon awaking, there is sometimes a sensation of uneasiness because there seem to be residues of a certain life that never really happened. One must adjust those memories and placed them in the cabinet labeled as dreams. The dreams cabinet contains memories of stories that were once heard and seemed as a good plot for a novel. People who were once met, but that would most likely never be encountered in everyday life. Places that were once visited, but which remain unknown when one’s eyes are opened. Ideas that seemed fantastic at some point, which one finds unable to remember upon awakening. All files in the dreams cabinet are non-existent. They happened in a different reality, yet they provide a hope for an improve life that includes the details from the dream. They are also fuel to achieve accomplishments. Dreams are, it seems, a game one’s unconsciousness plays by leaving remainders of what they were in the conscious reality. Such reality is confused with the dream in such a way that it presents a new way of appreciating the sunshine.
Dreams provide a sort of hope for an improved life because in a dream one unconsciously imagines what one really wants. Dreams are here, of course, not to be confused with nightmares. There are some details of one’s life that one might wish to change but it is difficult to simply do it while one is awake. A dream might present a path to follow in order to implement those changes. One tends to dream about people whom one cherishes, but who are not part of one’s reality. A dream brings then a new roadmap which life should follow after all that is what one unconsciously wants.
A dream is also the fuel that the unconscious provides the conscious in order for one to embark upon a journey of success. One does not simply decide to achieve a certain goal rather the goals one has are first visualized in dreams. The desire comes as a result of dreaming about such goal whether during the day or at night. Ambitions are created through dreams because in a dream everything is moldable to one’s desires, hopes and fears. Everything can be unconsciously controlled on a dream. If anything is not occurring as one might have expected: one wakes up. In real life, however, one cannot simply wake up. That is the reason why one needs a sort of blue print, which more often than not is supplied by the dreams one has whether awake or asleep. Nevertheless, one cannot fully control one dreams about hence nightmares.
People seem to ask themselves the question of why are there dreams without finding any answers. There are not any answers because those people are not strong enough to pursue their dreams. Their unconsciousness is screaming what it is that they should do in order to achieve what they really want but those people do no listen. They are lost in their conscious state moving through life on the everyday without a blue print for their future. It is true that there is not an exact way to materialize dreams other than with hard work and time, but it is not impossible. One should follow one’s dreams in order to find that way to materialize their content.
Dreams are a way for the unconscious to communicate though such communication is blurry. The problem is, however, that one does not yet know how to interpret the messages that the consciousness receives. A dream is easier to mold life in a dream than in reality. Thus, people find themselves drifting into dreams to play a game with the unconscious without knowing that they will never win. Dreams are a escape from reality without abandoning it. Dreams are the only way we can create a future without forgetting to live the present. Attention must be paid in order to recognize the importance of role dreams play in directing one’s life in the right direction because a dream is more than the drifting of into an unconscious state, it is a therapy the consciousness needs in order to verify that it is moving in the right direction.
A dream is a sort of imaginary reality that one molds to perfection. A game everyone plays because it is easier to break the rules there than to bend them in real life. Dreams are an immaterial happiness, which must be considered when on is awake. Otherwise, life is a nightmare.


xoxo,
Poison Drops


©Copyrighted 2008