Escape through Imagination

The art of escapism. I have a vivid imagination and am in my head a lot. As a young girl, my external world did not feel safe so I used my gift of imagination to create an alternate reality; one where I felt safe and secure. Below is a peek into this world.

"I so wanted to live in the woods as a child. When I was around 8 years of age, I even imagined that I built and lived in an underground home. The location of my secret home was in the woods located across the street from our house. I grew up playing in this small wooded area; it was my sanctuary away from the chaos and uncertainty of my house. This home in the woods had 3 doors to enter, and 3 doors to exit ... a home with an extensive security system in place. There were chimneys coming out of the ground in order to provide the necessary ventilation so I could breathe fresh air. These chimneys were made of the wood that could be found on the earths’ floor.  The first door looked as if it were part of the terrain. As one looked closer however, you could vaguely make out the fact that there might be an outline of something. One would do a double take and realize that definitely there, in the fauna, was an outline. Upon even closer look they would see a door, a door with a piece of wood as a handle. If you drew up the nerve to test it out, you would open it and enter in through a long tunnel, eventually arriving at the second door. This door was made of what looked like leaves, twigs, and dirt. This door had a purpose and that purpose was to convince those who entered to turn around because there really wasn’t anything there. If however, they weren’t fooled, another 100 yards or so, a third door would be encountered. This third door was made of thick, solid oak. The door was reinforced so that it couldn’t be blasted open. This is where the unwanted had no choice but to stop and the welcomed would enter in. When you opened that third door, you would enter into a majestic home. The lighting was colorful and bright. The floors were made of polished marble, the furnishings were rich and subdued, leather and velvet were what the couches were upholstered in. Cherry wood, polished so intently that it was gleaming. There was a glorious kitchen as well however I didn’t focus much on this room therefore the details are rather dull. The other room that stands out is the underground swimming pool. This was a glass enclosed room where the windows were half steamed most of the time. The pool area was brightly lit with an energy of joy exuding from within. Green plants and tropical flowers filled the pool area. Not only was there a pool, there was also a steaming, effervescent hot tub.

Given that I had such a vivid imagination at such a young age and now realize it was a mechanism for survival, I suggest that all you social scientists who may be in on the debate as to the origin of schizophrenia, might want to consider that dissociation would be a good place to start."


Thanks for stopping by ...

Enjoy the Ride

"For what it’s worth, it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be

There’s no time limit; stop whenever you want

You can change or stay the same; there are no rules to this thing

We can make the best or the worst of it, I hope you make the best of it

I hope you see things that stop you

I hope you feel things you’ve never felt before

I hope you meet people with a different point of view

I hope you live a life you’re proud of

If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again"

The above quote comes from one of my favorite movies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Most of my family doesn't understand why I like Sci-Fi, and they consider this movie to fall into that category. I don't look at most movies like they belong in a particular genre, a label designed by someone who needed to put things in their place. I often wonder whether or not we actually have a place. Shouldn't our every moment in every day be the place we were meant to be at, right at that moment? Someone told me recently that we should stop and enjoy the ride. The destination isn't part of the journey. It is just that, our destination. The journey is the ride, the place we were meant to be, at that particular moment in time. The way I view most movies is, they are their own individual journey. A journey meant to be enjoyed during that particular place of time. They each have a story to tell, an amazing adventure, a terror to explore, a love that runs so deep, its bond never to be broken. No genre to be placed in, because labels shouldn't exist. Let's just enjoy the ride, enjoy those that enter into this ride. They might be different then you, they might represent strange things ... but that's part of the story.

Music

I love these lyrics:

".. be strong .. hold on .. lotta love to go around -- stay wild .. soul child .. don’t you let ‘em bring you down"

Shawn Mullins - Soul's Core

Why So Secretive?

This is something I’ve been contemplating for a few months now; since the first time I heard of the numerous Facebook 'Find Out Who is Clicking on Your Profile' applications or the live EBlog 'Who’s Viewing Me Right at This Moment', of which includes the name, city, and state of the viewer just driving by. I guess I don't get why individuals have the need to know and/or keep track of who’s viewing their Blogs, MySpace, Facebook, emails, twitters, whatever else is out there. My sense is, if you choose to put your information out there, on a very public domain, you’re going to get individuals viewing your stuff. If you don’t want people viewing your stuff, don’t publicize it. 

Most of the social sites give you the capability to keep your information private, you can even choose to diss people off of your radar, such as the “Unfriend” option in Facebook. But for crying out loud, don’t get paranoid because people are interested in your life and what you have to say. You may have been friends with someone at one time and life circumstances worked out to where you became separated. Life circumstances can also work out to where individuals are brought back in to your life. Friendships can be rekindled, resparked, rejuvenated, etc. Current friends remain current. New friendships can be created and evolve into lifetime connections because more than likely, those who stop to read what you have to share, and share of themselves in return, have something in common with you ... there's a connection there. I know my life is so crammed full with work, grad school, my childrens' needs, my spouses' needs, my own needs ... I just don't get out much.

My take on this is to just relax, enjoy the reconnections, the current connections, the new connections, and the subsequent ride. I’m not minimizing the fact that there are definitely stalkers out there, but chances are, they aren’t your current friends, old friends, your new friends, or even the friends of your friends.

Harley ride

I'm thinking that one of the Harley rides I hear traveling down the road near my house needs to stop and become my Harley ride .. lots of chrome would be an added bonus .. hehe! ;)

Imagery Extension

I just wanted to share a few of the photographs I've taken over the last year. Photography provides me with a much needed artistic release not to mention the faction that I thoroughly enjoy it! I'm currently creating a photography website but seem to be having issues with it. Here's the site and I'll eventually figure it out!!

http://www.wix.com/MzMargo/Margos-Muse_Photography

Pacific University 2010

Garden Peony

Block from Gonzaga

Klickitat Windmills

Vegas Volleyball

Gig Harbor Pier

Garden Grasses

Things a Mother Doesn't Need to Know aka TMI

I love my son. He's 19, soon to be 20, and an intelligent, handsome, congenial, confident, outgoing ... you get the picture ... young man. In one week he will be flying to Reno, NV to participate in the Irene Ryan audition/acting competition. He was chosen to run lines with the young woman who was nominated to compete. Last night, my husband and I decided to have coffee and dessert (after attending an all you can eat crab feed, which by the way was yummmmmy!) at the restaurant where my son is employed. He took a break from work and joined us at our table where a conversation soon ensued about his trip. He enthusiastically talked about his plans for the week and decided to inform me/us that, oh yeah, we're going to hire a stripper to come to our room, we only have to pay $20 each. All of a sudden, scratching 45 vinyl record noises were coming from my brain followed by screeching brakes. Stop. Rewind. "Excuse me, what did you just say?" was my immediate reaction and I verbalized this reaction to him. He looked at me and repeated what I thought I heard, but was not quite sure if I heard it correctly. We're going to each pay $20 to have a stripper come to our hotel room. "No you're not" were the first words out of my mouth. He again looked me directly in the eyes, with a straight face, nodding enthusiastically -- for impact I'm sure -- and said "Oh yes, we are".

OK kids. The moral of this story is ... TMI. I feel very grateful that my son shares his life with me. It was a goal of mine -- no secrets .. we share our lives with those close to us. And I also totally get where he's coming from. In fact, I would probably have done the same thing at his age, hell even today I might do the same thing. I'm going to Vegas next week and hmmmm, never mind. Why, in my heydey (what a word!) I visited Dandy's by Sea-Tac Airport on more than one occasion and made a total fool of myself screaming and tossing coins at the naked, except for a g-string, male dancers, but I really, really, really don't think ... no, I really know I'm not quite ready to hear the aforementioned words coming out of my baby boy's mouth.

So, kids, teenagers, young adults, please don't share this kind of information with you mother, mom, mommy, etc. It's just TMI.