Heat and Cold Reflection

Posted on November 3, 2020 by mguercio

After reading about heat and cold, one thing that I have been thinking of is how subjective heat and cold are. What one person considers hot or cold could be completely different in another person. For instance, in the winter, most people in New York are pretty cold when the temperature is below freezing. However, there are some people who still wear shorts (there are multiple high school boys I’ve seen that wear shorts all year round). Also, people are used to different temperature ranges. In Florida, for example, 60 degrees Fahrenheit might be considered cold, but New Yorkers consider that a nice temperature. I also find it interesting how our body becomes accustomed to different temperatures at the end of a season. For me, when it first hit 50 degrees, I thought it was freezing. However, at the end of the winter, 50 degrees feels warm. Another thing I find interesting is how people feel most comfortable in different temperatures when sleeping. Some people prefer to be cool when they sleep while others, including myself, prefer to be warm. In the summer, I only have is the air conditioner in my parents’ room across the hall. I have a fan, but I don’t even use it most of the time. When it is colder out, I use 2 or even 3 blankets (It doesn’t help that I get cold very easily).

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Light/Shadow Reflection

Posted on November 2, 2020 by kmyles

Light- The most prominent detail that stuck out to me was “golden hour” and the section about sunrises and sunsets. If I could drive down to the beach every day and watch the sunset, I would. The only reason I wouldn’t watch the sunrise every morning, is because I am NOT a morning person. Regardless, I love seeing both landscapes. The light and colors are so astonishing and they create a breathtaking scene that allows you to get lost in it and stop thinking about life’s worries or problems or responsibilities. It’s a natural, beautiful distraction from every day life.

Dark- This was probably the most intriguing section of the book I have read thus far. David Macauley quotes, “‘Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individuals conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.'” This statement couldn’t be more true. Each individual has their “demons” or trauma that they have experienced which they carry with them every day. Some people acknowledge the darkness, others avoid it. However, pushing the problems away, into the mental “lock box,” will most likely create bigger problems. If darkness isn’t addressed or tamed, it will resurface at times and take an emotional toll on the human being. Locking it away will only give it time to manifest and grow, becoming blacker and denser. Facing your demons will allow the darkness to gradually become lighter.

Furthermore, this reminded me of probably my favorite song by Dermot Kennedy, “Lost.” The opening lyrics are, “when everything was broken, the devil hit his second stride. But you remember what I told you? Someday I’ll need your spine to hide behind.” I thought this could relate to the darkness. After experiencing something emotionally traumatic or feeling completely alone, there is this sensation of brokenness beyond repair. And when one is at that low point, the darkness repeatedly surfaces and will knock that individual down again and again. I believe if someone fails to confront personal demons, they will never truly go away and the “devil [will definitely] hit his second stride.” All the negative emotions and feelings will come back like the horrible experience happened yesterday. As Macauley states, “confronting our own shadows-the repressed sides of our characters-then may be vital to enjoying the clarifying light of vision and day, especially because few of us are able to outrun or escape them with ease.” Based on personal experience, I can agree with this. For at least a year of my life I suppressed my darkest feelings but they continues to bother me every day. Sometime over the summer, I actually had two emotional dreams relating to my demons and I woke up crying on both occasions. This is when I decided it was time to address them so my mental health can improve over time. And that’s exactly what I’m doing right now, just taking it day by day. I’m definitely not looking for sympathy or pity, but I want to raise a little awareness about something I feel passionately about. You can’t outrun your trauma, it will catch up. It’s better to acknowledge it and slowly decompress it until the weight doesn’t feel as heavy.

Here’s the song:

Now, here are some nice pictures of sunsets that I took!

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Light and Shadows

Posted on November 2, 2020 by wcturgeon

Perhaps my favorite interstice is the essay on light and shadow.  Mostly because shadows seem such insignificant and yet overpowering testimonies to the presence of reality.  Casting a shadow guarantees my reality, my real presence.  In Richard Strauss’ lush and beautiful opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten the lead character sells her shadow, thereby brining about her inability to have a child, to make a lasting difference in the world.  Yes, it is a mythic claim and perhaps it sounds silly in this age where we see children as a choice, an option.  But in an ancient society where humans were scarce, a child was the gift of the future.

Pindar, the Roman poet, described a man as “the dream of a shadow” and a lovely column in the New York Times used his evocative phrase to introduce a short film of shadow images walking on the pavement.

Maauley’s essay takes us from scientific definitions of the umbra/penumbra, the role of light in life from photosynthesis to establishing our circadian rhythms. Here are some images to identify.  See if you can find his references in the essay.

Visit the page dedicated to the shadow.

And for Lindsey Sterling’s work:

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