Living In The Weeds

Hello! Something interesting that's been happening to me lately is that I'll encounter certain images whether that be an elderly woman crossing the street, or a Dunkin' Donuts bag on the ground and I won't just see them as things or events, but rather think about their greater significance and if there are any messages behind the images I see. So, one of the messages I keep encountering through objects/images and that keeps popping into my mind has to do with social hierarchy as it pertains to socioeconomic factors, specifically income/financial status. I first thought about this theme while observing a car branch that was stuck in my windshield wipers. It continuously got knocked down as the wipers continued to clear the rain, but the entire ride home it never fell off. I compared this branch and it's strength to those struggling with financial burden, maybe because of it is difficult and you get knocked down, but through learning to cope and not having things handed to you, you grow more resilient. This message could be true about things other than financial burden as well. The second image that made me think of a similar message occurred to me while driving on the highway. I was mostly in the outside lane thought this drive, but when I decided to move to the middle of the highway and later to the passing lane, I noticed that this movement reflected the ease at which people without financial burden move through life. I compared the highway to life [haha life is a highway the song just popped into my head!] the position of the lanes to a hierarchy pyramid and their speeds to the amount of ease they felt (the faster the car the less burdens in their way, whether that be financial or otherwise and vis versa). But something else struck me about this particular spot on the highway. The outside lane was full of potholes, one of the reasons I moved. Whereas the passing lane has smooth, what appeared to be newly poured even tar. As my car went from shaking underneath me to feeling no bumps or rockiness, I looked at the pot holes and they reminded me (them being things easy to get stuck in) as problems, or difficulties that could arise in one's life (hence the saying "bumps in the road"). So not only was it position of the lanes and their corresponding speeds that could reflect themes of social hierarchy, but their physical condition as well. Got me thinking: what rough surfaces/bumps in the road have I had (me being representative of the car in this case). Has my road/highway (life) been bumpy and have I grown, or quite smooth and have I not known much difficulty? Obviously there is a range of what we may deem as difficult or easy, and I'm sure that most of us have had our fair share of both, that's kind of how life works. I don't believe that any person is perfect, or perfectly happy all the time. I think that's part of being human, experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions along the way, regardless of where we are socioeconomically or compared to others in a multitude of ways. Something as simple as a drive on the highway and a branch in a windshield, got me thinking about the theme of privilege. I wanted to share this as a reminder to keep your eyes open, be curious and let your mind wonder. Ponder things because it's quite beautiful to be able to think so deeply about such simple events in your life and to share these events with others to keep them thinking too.

Unfortunately.... there's more! Are you surprised? So I did take a video of the branch that was being knocked down but accidentally deleted it. While I was driving on the highway I wasn't able to take a photograph either, but I did take a photograph of the last image that sparked my curiosity on the same topic: the wallpaper in my doctor's office [which I will attach below]. In this photograph there are different floral designs each with a circular shadow underneath. As I was laying on the patient bed during my acupuncture session, I noticed that one of the designs looked more like weeds than flowers. To me I clearly saw the circular pattern with solely yellow flowers as the upper class/financially better off/better off in anyway really, as no weeds are present. In other circles you can see the same yellow flower design but this time accompanied by a darker gray branch of flowers that haven't bloomed yet, what I'm calling: the weeds. And lastly, there is a circular image with neither flowers nor the dark grey weeds but instead what looked like to me two branches of weeds: one a mustard yellow color and the other a faint grey. This last image represented for me the poorest of the poor, without hope, without bloom in their lives.

I thought the timing of this image was quite interesting as spring is right around the corner and flowers will soon be blooming all around us! As you start to notice these flowers, ask yourself about the people or activities that make your heart bloom and continue to surround yourself with them. But also ask yourself the harder question, what things aren't making you bloom, what things would you like to get rid of and what quality traits would you like to move away from? Put yourself in perspective with everyone in the world and be grateful for the things you do have that others do not.

In conclusion, I thought I'd share these three images that made me look deeper to inspire you all to look deeper, but I promise, this post wasn't meant to be somber but positive! This post wasn't intended to complain about social hierarchy in the world, or to make others feel sorry for the impoverished and struggling. While these things aren't bad, part of me remembers that there are cycles of wealth and of impoverished living. I remind myself that while I'm not sure how to change socioeconomic structure, I question whether it has to be. I continue to learn keeping in mind that your handed a deck of cards, and all you can do is play your best.

To end on a positive note I want to go back to the inspiring message I mentioned and finish with a quote: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure" [Marianne Williamson].