December 21, 2014
(This is part of a 365 project
during my 70th year. Each day I will find a gift the day brings, write about it
and illustrate it.)
Pareidolia shapes my perception and has always been a part
of my life ever since I can remember. Today I see a heart in a fallen tree on the Downs Park beach,
another day I see a rabbit in the clouds and another day a poodle in peeling
paint. Some people see Jesus in their toast or monsters in inkblots.
When I was a student at Frostburg, the bathroom for our dorm
hall had a row of shower stalls with canvas curtains. As warmth embraced my body and washed away the day’s tensions, I would begin splashing water onto the dry canvas. Unconcerned
about wasting water then, I sometimes spent 45 minutes in the warm shower while
I imagined what each water blotch on the canvas looked like. Then I made up stories in my head that connected the individual pictures. It was fun and for
nearly an hour, I forgot about stress-producing class deadlines.
My youngest daughter, Lauren, also experienced this when she
was little. At age two, one night at the dinner table, she began to point and
laugh hysterically at her vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. “Man’s face!
Man’s face!” she exclaimed with delight. At another time, she became excited
when she saw ET’s face in a knotted tree piece that was on the ground. She has
never mentioned it but I hope this pleasure continues for her today as she
experiences life in her 30’s.
I don’t ever want to lose the ability to see what is not
there. It is like seeing double in a
good way: I see what is there and then I see what is there. Double pleasure.
Today’s gift was a
heart in a log.
You can read my other posts on this project here:
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