What are the thoughts that drift from our minds as we stare into the horizon? What are the internal messages that drift outward and are carried away by the wind? Often these messages are mixed; hope and despair existing in tandem, inextricably linked and fed by each other.
This duality has often fascinated me and became apparent on an exceptionally windy day during April of 2010 when I had the chance to wander the shores of BC's "Sunshine Coast".
I found a number of small signs mounted on popsicle sticks that had been planted on a short pedestrian causeway leading out to the ocean. Many of the signs were precariously close to being blown away by the powerful wind, from which there was little shelter.
The signs had everything from trite and cliché laden platitudes printed on them, to the wonderful duality of "Anything is Possible/Life is Empty & Meaningless" on one that stood out the most for me.
I liked the idea of these signs being situated on a spit of land looking out towards the sea, as if they were physical manifestations of the type of thoughts or reflections one might have while looking out into the distance and scanning the horizon.
The signs jolted and flickered in the harsh wind, like the torrent of thoughts crossing my mind at the time. It was a wonderful find, and I enjoyed placing the signs in strategic places, hoping perhaps that others might find them as well.
It also helped me reconcile the many conflicting thoughts competing for attention in my own mind, some just as turbulent as the wind swept ocean around me.
What would your signs say?
2 comments:
I love the idea of the little signs! My sign would likely say something like "never apologize, never explain" or "oww, my eye! I'm not supposed to get pudding in it!"
Mine would probably quote something from the Five Man Electrical Band! Or not. Mine would have contradictions all over them as well I'm sure!
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