Detlef Cordes

Yes......I simply could not love this more....xo

I keep coming back...smiling at that lonely fish. :)

@shellartistree Thank you Shell! So glad you like the lonely fish and the statement for tenderness :))

Sad little fish!! Puckering up for a kiss....

Oh I have a lonely fish too he was at jakes friends house n a tub not long enough to have his tail straight, we made a pond for him and he needs a friend like you are my friend, please bring him here:)) I feel very tender!

Ain't it the truth.

*hugs* This photo is triggering some associations, I haven't quite figured it out yet tho!

@Tittch Are goldfish schooling fish? How do you liberate a goldfish?

@lizbeth33 "to have his tail straight"? Is that a manner of speaking? A fish with its tail in cast?

@climenhaga Love is overrated. You can't fake tenderness. Hmmm. Is that true?

@perpetualspiral Oh please come back for a brain storm. Let those associations flow like water into a tub ;)

Brainstorm: The first thing that came to mind when I saw this picture was Arthur Dent, the Englishman from the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I'm not quite sure why, and it's not all because he uses a 'babelfish' in his ear to translate for him, which I always picture as a goldfish.

the second association I had was of an animated (claymation-type) short film I saw years ago, in which the man's pet goldfish swam in constant circles in his tiny fishbowl. The circles were faster or slower depending on the music the man was playing on the piano.

Both of these images, to me, are very sad. Pink Floyd lyrics, "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl". Lost souls. Trapped, going in circles. Loneliness, futility. -> despair. The symbolism of a lone fish in a bowl overwhelms me with sadness, the deep crushing sorrow that is the waste and purposelessness of some human lives. And the circles we go in over and over until we learn the lessons we are given. Some people use the image of banging one's head against a brick wall. Circles can more easily be broken than walls. Catch-22's and vicious cycles can be escaped. -> hope.

Well, what do you think?

@perpetualspiral Thank you very much! Lately I've come to think that vicious circles can be broken simply by stopping to move. You know this gravity thing: If the earth could stop moving around the sun - zoom it would go off into space.

Sometimes I think with our efforts to break out of our vicious circles we create the exact momentum needed to keep the circular motion going.

That's something that fascinates me in Shakespeare's tragedies, the protagonists creating the very thing they are desperately trying to avoid.

As always, thought-provoking response :) Technically-speaking, centrigual force is not the same as general gravity. If the earth stopped in its orbit, it would still be attracted gravitationally towards the sun. I'm not a physicist but I think that would be the case, anyway. It might go flinging off into space (relative to the sun - the solar system itself is moving through space) if the gravity of the sun suddenly stopped 'working'.

How does this relate to what we're talking about? I don't know, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to spew some scientific stuff that might make me look like I know what I'm talking about ;p

Stopping IS one way of breaking a viscious cycle. It's "going cold turkey", because all circles are addiction-like if not actual addictions. But there are other ways to break out. Educating yourself. Asking questions instead of just accepting things are the way they are. Putting in practice that famous Einstein quote: "problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them". My way of escaping the cycle is to actively seek the lesson, painful or not. Being mindful. Questioning everything I can think to question. Being in therapy. Expanding my mind. Exploring my hurts and triggers. In this way the circles in my life become a SPIRAL, ascending through personal/spiritual development.

Shakespeare characters are not the only ones that create their own tragedies. We all do it. Repetitive negative thinking is a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm not someone who uses 'positive self-affirmation' to counter this, that sort of thing makes me squeamish. I just recognize the belief behind the negative thought, evaluate it, and decide whether it's helpful for me to believe that. Usually the answer is no. So I work on stopping that thought and refute it every time it comes up. This is how I make my progress :)

Obviously, I'm speaking from my own personal experience, from what works for me, not trying to give advice or write a self-help book! LOL

@perpetualspiral Obviously I have been talking BS about earth going off into space if it stopped rotating around the sun. You are absolutely right.

But about educating yourself: I don't know, Mich. And I really don't know, not just as a matter of speaking. I mistrust the light of reason - and that's hard, because I'm good at reasoning.

The hand that holds the torch is in the dark. Always. And you don't know what the intention of that hand is. Never.

In my life, however hard I tried and worked rationally - "enlightenment" always came through the back door. Very often through things I didn't want to do but had to, things I was bullied into, things I ridiculed - like Twitter.

But for the rational Detlef your spiral is fascinating. That's a feeling I often have: I've been here, but on a different level.

"I've been here, but on a different level." That is EXACTLY, absolutely EXACTLY what the spiral is about :D You get it! Yay!!

I don't recall saying anything about 'reason' or 'rationally'. I said "educating oneself". How do you get from one to the other? I mean education in the sense of reading and gathering info, not just 'fact books' but literature, experiences, ideas...YOU do this already, DC. However, education is not just about information storage, it is the processing of the info, the interconnections you make, the recognition of yourself in the meanings between connections, that make you 'educated' in this sense.

@perpetualspiral Yay! Glad we're on the same level :) OK: you didn't speak about reason. Perhaps I should work on my concept of "education". Perhaps I should say "consciousness". Yes: I mistrust the conscious Detlef. The unconscious is more successful for shure. And has more fun.

To me, self-education is something very different than "schooling". I guess I assume everyone feels that way, makes the same distinction. I think it is a very healthy distinction :)

Distrusting your own consciousness...has me a bit stumped. Do you mean you mistrust your perceptions? Your thoughts? Your "self"?

@perpetualspiral I've learned to mistrust my priorities and my judgement. I've experienced that things I do with a big effort, using all my talents and abilities - they fail.

Things I do "left handedly", without effort, improvising not thinking much of it - they (often) succeed.

As a musician in the studio I'm a "first take man". If I have to do it again - it inevitably gets worse.

In my life I feel that consciousness very often gets into my way. Yes, it does.

hmm. I am sorry to hear that. Though it is good that your first instincts are successful! How do you measure this failure you say comes when you put everything into something? How do you "fail"?

@perpetualspiral I fail when nobody listens to a song.

I will always listen to your songs DC;)

This is a masterpiece Detlef.

"try a little tenderness"...had to give Otis a little listen because of your words and this lovely photo..yes, we search for that... sometimes we do better just going with our intuitive selves, yes?

@shellartistree Thank you, it means a lot to know you are listening, Shell :)

@kchall Thank you for calling this a masterpiece, Kushlani! *Bowing down*

@jancartier Hi Janice, so good to see you :) Proud you gave good old Otis a listen on behalf of this. He is one of my favorites.

And yes, sometimes it is best to fly by "gut radar" ;)

:) Hope you are having a lovely freitag.. ( is that correct? )

"I fail when nobody listens to a song." But that's a marketing fail, isn't it? It can't have anything to do with the quality of the song. If you make something that you like and think is good, that is never a fail. Think of all the artists and authors whose talents were only recognized after they died - they were ahead of their time. I'm not saying that will happen to you, but you only fail when you sell yourself out, and produce something you aren't satisfied with. *hugs*

Thank you @jancartier :) "Lovely Freitag" is correct. Have a happy Samstag, 11/21 :)

This goldfish looks guilty and upset that it's been caught. Lets give him some privacy please...

@perpetualspiral I see it this way, Michelle: if you are telling a joke at party and nobody laughs - that joke is a failure. You don't say "It's a good joke, but the people don't understand it." Maybe that's the case but it's part of the responsibility of the performer to assess the situation. That's the way I see myself - so perhaps I'm not an artist. I wouldn't be sad if I wasn't ;)

Just so you know, this is a very lovely photo :)

Ah, Detlef, your water cooler definitely is the place to listen in and learn. By the back door, even if I hadn't thought to ask the universe a question before I dropped by. Good place to find the questions. @Micalanne I'm with you on the guilt thing now that you mention it. Poor fish. Detlef, did it stop circling at the bottom? Only way to go is up, and if by spiral, would have the benefit of a different perspective on the world it sees on the outside and its relationship to it. And, yes, Micalanne, this is "a lovely photo."

How will our fish start its active ascent? A little tenderness could give it the lift it needs. Give it the feeling of having been forgiven. Let it learn that the light of our attention on it has allowed it to be absolved of any guilt. Does it matter what it is guilty of? Were there other fish before? Did it commit a heinous crime? And if so, should we let it just stew in its prison of loneliness and guilt as a lesson that this is the consequence of its terrible actions? I think though this fish is just too self-critical and feels guilty for dreams of wanting to be other than it is--wanting to swim in the air, like that parakeet whose cage across the room has an open door and who can show its affection (and get affection in return) and thanks for its food. This poor fish who wants to be more than just dependent on handouts and wants to see more of the world--like the one outside those squares of light in the walls.

Cool, Detlef, about the hand that holds the torch being in the dark. Putting a name to the feeling as to why I'm not sure if this is the way, or if that is the way. Yet, all those trips, if following that light (light is light, after all, and the flame maybe has burnt it clean) will yield answers. Someone has said, There are no mistakes, only good information. I try to remember to tell myself that (too many times!!).

And about "consciousness"? To be conscious enough to determine the questions that need asking to get the answers one needs. And the consciousness to recognize the answer when it comes. No, no! Maybe attention to "instinct" is what's needed, not "consciousness." Think I need to consciously ponder meaning of consciousness, with the aid of instinct.

"Gravity" - I like applying the world of matter meaning here to "the gravity of the situation." This poor fish truly at the bottom in both senses. Couldn't be any lower, physically, unless the bottom of the bowl and the top of the table gave way. Or maybe we are just catching this fish (no, not that!) in a moment of its having chosen to rest at the bottom for necessary grounding, where it ponders its essence and possibilities--and fate?

but if no one hears the joke (song), there's no way to tell if it will make them laugh or not. Your analogy doesn't make sense to me. It's like saying, "I have a joke" to a couple people in a room, and waiting for everyone to ask you to tell them. If nobody asks, it says nothing about the quality of the joke. If no one listens to your song, how can anyone judge how good it is? You've not 'failed' when it comes to the actual song, you've just 'failed' at getting people to hear it. Do you see what I mean?

@Micalanne Thank you, Micalanne. I think that's the terror for the fish in the glass: it has nowhere to hide.

@Karenerhu Thank you, you make some important points and give me stuff to ponder. I wonder if we are free to give or take away attention from instinct. Isn't it the nature of instinct to function automatically?

The instincts of this fish are not allowed to function because it is deprived of its natural environment.

What's the natural environment for a human being? Do our instincts match our environments?

Hmmm. Yes, the fish are in a new situation for their species. No instincts for this. But to eat what comes its way is an instinct alive and well. What instinctual urges would a goldfish have that have been braked in the bowl? Some fish swim in currents, some live in still water, some travel, some remain under the same rock (until hooked and cooked or bullied out by a bigger one), some zip to the top for a choice morsel, some shovel their food off the bottom. What new instincts would help the solitary goldfish to live in contented peace within a fishbowl? If in learning to cope, an instinct is begun to be developed, it would have nowhere to go. No offspring. But, would there be a goldfish adaptation like the Hundreth Monkey, from 100 in isolation around town, around the world, learning to love looking sideways at a manmade world in air?

Conscious attention on instincts? I feel that instincts can be smothered or driven underground by unconscious overlays from programs from one's early days or in the presence of information deemed more useful in any more recent human situation. We learn that our instincts might not always serve us best, if they are the reptilian brain (only) carryover variety. Conscious attention or intervention may be needed to spot the instinct that wants to surface and rule.

Do our instincts match our environments? Over here, on the North (and South?) American continent(s), we have more choice to actually choose an environment where our ancient human instincts can (need to) function. Survival instincts back then might backfire now, though the need for cooperation was less abstract then (an instinct?) Are curiosity and adaptability, making peace beyond the tribe, promoting the survival of future generations instincts? Are human instincts a work in progress? Upward spiral? As peace-lovers are killed and we fowl our nest, one could wonder. And then came Twitter! So, there's hope!!

@Karenerhu I think evolution doesn't end with homo sapiens, so I believe our instincts are a work still in progress. Although they might not be modeled by ourselves "consciously". More behind our backs.

Children in industrialized societies already have a different development. They lack skills in motion but are able to react to computer games in astonishing ways, - Is that s/thing we want? We will see what comes out of it.

But no - unfortunately we won't be there to see it ...

I think I agree with you. Yes, the development of our instincts happening behind our backs. Thank goodness, maybe, because we could get tangled up even trying to consciously decide what we need, within whatever angle of vision we are viewing what we think are our real needs.

Children in industrialized societies lacking skills in motion? Fortunately for children in the U.S., soccer has arrived in the schools. Big time. Girls as well as boys. Well, at least those schools with any athletic programs. But there are also community teams.

I am heartened and amazed by the hearts and brains of children I know or have met even briefly. They're inheriting a mess, and it's up to them to get us past this.

Not here to see it? This time around, you mean?

@Karenerhu Yes, this time around :) We will probably be back inheriting the mess we created. On the other hand: it will have been the mess that created us for us to feedback on it.

I would be more optimistic if nuclear technology didn't exist.

What goes around comes around as we go and come around with and because of it and us and so on and on?

Ah, yes, nuclear technology. Even if for "peaceful" uses, which is so clean the insurers won't touch it?