 |
| source |
Whether a painting or a poem, a film or a farce, I'm always energized by analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating text—all genres and mediums. It's a classic English teacher flex. I love to poke around in story: inciting incidents, character motivations, internal forces, flaws, and consequences.
It's like dissecting a frog. One of my favourite essays highlights the serendipitous yet ultimately meaningful nature of the scientific process. Entomologist Samuel H. Scudder's professor advised him repeatedly to "look at your fish" (c) 1874. Scudder wondered, for what, exactly? Like Scudder, I am rarely certain what I'm looking for but I know when my nervous system reacts, there's something to be found. Whether a frog, a fish, or text, I must examine how tiny organs connect, otherwise how would I find the life within them? And that's the most important part in understanding anything: the looking.
ASL inspires me to look at text anew: it's a window into language I stopped gazing at. ASL's "sorry" wisely connotes both the act and the outcome of a long-churning heart. In other words, without examining the churning that prompted it, "sorry" may be rote, or empty, or even unnecessary.
Poet Mary Oliver famously said, "you do not have to be good, you do not have to walk on your knees, for a hundred miles through the desert repenting." 100% agree. I am tired of people claiming to be the arbiters of good. (I've made that mistake many times too.) At this stage in my life, I am more interested in being real than good. "Good" by whose definition? Black and white notions of good and evil may make things simple, but life has taught me that if I truly hope to understand myself and others, I should look for the spectrums where I once saw categories.
In my ongoing quest to avoid the atrophy I call "becoming a grumpy, old man" (old yes, grumpy no) I aim to embrace evolution and that requires applying a little Socrates-inspired self-examination; to "know thyself" means I must do the hard work: dissect my churning heart.
5 comments:
I will try to remember that sign even if I never use it. I like it. I hope you do well with ASL and your granddaughter.
Wasn't it Socrates who also said "The unexamined life is not worth living"?
What a lovely and thoughtful post. Thank you for teaching me how to say sorry in ASL. I agree. It is a beautiful gesture, one I shall begin to use myself.
I learned ASL in my thirties, so I could teach Miss Katie, who is non verbal. I've forgotten so much of it sadly. Sorry though is a sign that is used a lot by Miss Katie. She pulls hair and pinches or scratches people sometimes and then always feels remorse and says sorry over and over again.
ASL is such a beautiful language. I wish I could have continued on with it but, as all things, it requires practice.
As for your quest, me too. I try to better myself, to be more patient, to lower my voice, to stop stressing and I have improved but not as much as I would like:)
I love that. I shall try to remember and use it. (Goodness knows I have to apologise enough, usually for saying the wrong thing!)
Post a Comment