Mental Bookends
Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010
by Dianne Lehmann
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I have a pair of prescription glasses. Well, actually, I have one prescription "glass." I was born with one eye nearsighted (the right one) and the other mostly normal. Over time, my left eye took up the distance and middle distance viewing duties and my right eye became good for only reading and doing close work. Because it was not discovered until I was older than six years old, there was never any hope of fixing it and getting my brain to see things three dimensionally as most folks do.
When I was eleven years old, an ophthalmologist told me that I might never actually need glasses. He was mostly correct, but I don't think he was factoring in presbyopia; the hardening of the lens in the eye as you age that makes it more difficult for the muscles to pull it into focus; mostly affecting close-up and middle distance viewing. After all, I was only eleven.
Still, I mostly don't wear them. I don't need them to see when something sauting in the frying pan is done even if I can't exactly focus on it. I don't need them to fix my hair or wash my face or brush my teeth. I don't even need my eyeglasses to apply the little bit of makeup that I wear. Mostly I only need them for the middle distances close up and far away are just fine. So, I usually only wear them when I go out shopping to help me read the shelf labels. Otherwise, I either have to get right on top of the labels or stand so far away that the resolution becomes a problem.
In case you are wondering, which you probably are not, I have a pair of eyeglasses specific for reading a computer monitor. The left eye is corrected for the distance to the monitor and the right eye has a plano so that I can focus on the keyboard or any copy I might be typing from.
At any rate, I don't always wear them when I go out. And I did not on a recent shopping trip to Barnes and Noble to see if I could find a couple books to help me understand horses a little better. After I had selected my purchases, I looked around the store (how could you possibly leave Barnes and Noble without looking around a bit) and eventually came to the back-to-school section. It was there I found the mental bookends.
My first thought was, "Wow! What a concept." My next thought was, "Oh. Wait a minute," and I saw what I was really looking at. It's not really as if I couldn't focus on the words even though I was eyeglassless, because I could. The letters were quite large enough. Some part of me insisted on reading "mental" where it actually said "metal." Whoa! That made way more sense, but wasn't nearly as poetic as I first thought it was. Imagine my disappointment and chagrin.
Still, I couldn't help thinking about mental bookends. I mean, just think about it. They could be good or they could be bad. It could be that they keep all your thoughts and thinking upright and organized. Or they could box you in and make all your thought finite and limited.
Would you keep everything between the mental bookends or just what you use the most? Or is that where you'd keep the special stuff, the cherished things you want most to remember? Have there always been mental bookends and we just haven't realized it? How many sets would you need? Or do you even need a set of mental bookends?
We have two sets of actual bookends in our house. One set is very utilitarian and made of, yes, metal. They hold a set of reference type books on the top shelf of our computer desk: Microsoft Office 2003, The Crystal Bible, and Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals to name a few. The other is a cast set of Winnie the Pooh characters and resides in our living room atop an antique tea cart. It holds a different set of reference type books about dogs, cats, horses, people, etc. Otherwise, we just use rocks or coin banks and the like to keep our books from falling over on their sides, not that it should matter really if they did. In other words, we use anything that is handy and not being used for something else.
Human memory (not to mention thought) has always mystified and amazed me. That we remember anything at all is gift and a curse as Mr. Monk might say. I wonder from time to time if any part of it is "random access." Case in point is the previous, previous sentence. Can we simply recall something from "nothing" so to speak? Or is it all case dependent? Does it need a trigger or a guidepost; something to set you on the correct memory trail? For my husband, the latter certainly seems to be the case. I can't tell you the times I've had to run through a litany of qualifiers until I finally find the one that sparks the memory I'm looking for in him. Or he might ask me when we bought a certain item and all I have to do is remember what I was wearing when we bought it or what I ate for lunch and then the date pops right into my head. Weird, hunh?
Maybe this is what our mental bookends might "look" like. Neat little brackets that collect all of our memories about love, about driving, about the movies we've seen and the books we've read. All the conversations we've had and the work we have done neatly associated, one with the other. Maybe we couldn't survive without mental bookends. Maybe without them, all our thoughts and memories would just get all mixed up and become a messy tangle of meaninglessness. Or I am simply making way more out of something I misread. Still, it's kind of catchy isn't it? Mental Bookends.
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More commentsMemory (perception, conception, apperception, cognition, discrimination) or "sanna" in Pali, is one of the "Five Skhandas." The Buddha laid it out in precise detail, to be contemplated whether or not sanna, and actually all five skhandas, is self, me and mine.Best.......eHi e.The Buddha was very wise and that is an absolute fact. To have done it all by thinking and meditating and at the time that he did it is just amazing. How lucky we all are that he has done all this for us.Thanks for reading and commenting. Your comments are always educational and interesting.Hugs,Dianne
It's very catchy, Dianne! I think it's amazing that your brain figured out a way to deal with your different eyes. Now you've got me wondering what life looks like through other people's eyes - literally.I should think you're often confronted with a world that is much more pedestrian than the one you can imagine... I love going on the journeys you take a reader on. And you wrapped this one up very neatly!Hi Jennifer.You know, each of my eyes perceives color a little differently too. Kind of weird. I've often wondered what true three dimensional vision is like. Bernd would like to go see a 3D movie because he is really curious what it would be like to see a movie that looks more like reality. But what I see on the big and little screens looks so close to my reality that I have no need to try to see a 3D movie. Not even sure I could.I don't know that the world actually is more pedestrian than the one I imagine ... well okay maybe it is. :) Gave it a little thought and I think you are correct. But it doesn't really matter. I love it just as it is ... well okay maybe not all parts of it. But you know, it surprises me all the time. And the more I learn about this world of ours, the more amazed I am.Anyway, I am so glad that you enjoyed it. And thanks for the very kind comments. You've made me smile a very big smile.Hugs,Dianne
Really liked the article--I don't think I have any mental bookends; everything is just scattered all over-maybe that is where the word scatterbrain comes from. I need mental bookends! And I misread things all the time but in my case I think it's because I'm in a hurry!Hi Terri.Maybe they are just very flimsy bookends. Maybe you need to gets some good strong ones. :) Or maybe not. Not that you're a scatter brain, but I've known a few and they seem to get along just fine. Maybe even better than me. :)Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.Dianne
This could be your book... if you ever write one, "Mental Bookends" or the title of your album if music is your thing. Sometimes we come across something in our life that resonates with who we are... and I think you may have found yours. Good stuff! -BrombergHi B2C.That is an absolutely fantastic idea. But now that I've put the idea out there, someone else will probably use it before I have a chance to. I'm not the speediest bunny in the bunch. But I really love it as a book title.Thanks so much for all of it. You can give me your 2 cents anytime.My best to you,Dianne
Very nice Dianne. I think we all have metal mental bookends from which nothing else can pass nor escape. Some more varied and voluminous than others, from which we remember pretty much what our heart's desire. However, there are exceptions as always, that may have the ability to pierce the heavens and beyond. I do not know any of these people personally, but I have heard accounts of their existence.Love your stuff. :-)Hi David.I'm glad you find something worthwhile in my stuff. That's all I ever really hope for. Well, that and I'd like to think that I entertain a little."However, there are exceptions as always, that may have the ability to pierce the heavens and beyond. I do not know any of these people personally, but I have heard accounts of their existence." I get the meaning of the first two sentences, but I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this one and I'd like to know. Please? If you have the time.Thanks so much for reading and commenting!Hugs,DianneI just mean that humans by nature tend to stay inside those bookends because it contains their knowledge of the the world and how they perceive things to work. It is where they are most comfortable. The great thinkers of our time, for instance Albert Einstein, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, tended to reach beyond these confines of common perception even to the point of great harm to themselves. It is because of these people that dare question the status quo, to reach to the stars and beyond, that we have discovery, and this is where progress is born. Now I know these people exist, I just don't know any of them personally.Thanks, David, for the explanation. It would be awesome and somewhat intimidating to know such people, don't you think? And yes, we do most certainly tend to stay in our nice little brackets of familiarity. It's easier there and then we don't have to think so much. Bad us. :)
You're hilarious Dianne. I love how your mind works. To answer your question, Mental Bookends is very catchy. My husband is amazed at all I can remember. It's ususally all people stuff. I guess that's what's most important to me and that's what I place between my mental bookends, the other stuff seems to slip off the shelf. Great read!Hi Brianna.I too remember best the things that are most important to me and the things that interest me the most. Many times the two are one in the same.I'm so glad that you enjoyed it. And thanks for stopping by. It's always a pleasure.Hugs,Dianne
Hey there!How are you?Lovely article and I enjoyed the read...I never give below FIVEHi Chiradeep.I'm good! How are you? Spent yesterday with the horses so how could I help but be good. But was tired last night and so I'm just now getting to responding to comments.I'm glad you enjoyed my article and thanks for the stars!Hugs,Dianne
This is great! To have your creativity sparked by a mistake? You did a marvelous job. My second nephew had a similar problem with 3D perception. He had surgery to correct the problem. He sees better but not perfect.The two are seperate subjects, but also can be seen as one and the same in a strange sort of way. My hats off to you!Hi Jesus.That's me in a nutshell ... sort of strangely connected. :) My mind is always connecting all sorts of things together. Some of it is good and makes sense when you really look at it. Some of it is just pure nonsense, but usually good for a laugh.The ophthalmologist that I saw when I was eleven told my mom and me that if my condition had been discovered before I was about six years old, I could have had surgery to correct it. And anyway, who among us "sees" perfectly? :)Are you new to SearchWarp? If so, let me say WELCOME. I'm sure you will have a great time here.Thanks for reading and for you very kind comments.My best to you,Dianne
I love this idea of mental bookends. In particular the way you described your wacky eyesight. I have a similar problem and now can't leave the house without a magnifying glass - reading labels is a thing of the past and I often end up buying the wrong product because my brain has filled in gaps in my site to make me believe i am looking at the very thing I am looking for. Brains are such a wonderful thing when you think about it and I can see that you have. Thanks for sharing.Hi Lisa.Whoa! Your vision problem is quite a bit worse than mine. Sounds like maybe you have macular degeneration? But as for our brains filling in what we think we want to see, boy that's the truth. Has to do with expectations and desire and all that. But sometimes, I think it's just a brain fart, pure and simple. :) I love my brain and wouldn't trade it for another, but sometimes I do wonder about it. :)Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts.My best to you,Dianne
Love "Metal Bookends" - What a great book title! Your creativity and style is so well channeled. Love the way you developed this one! Most enjoyable read!Hi Heidi.Thanks so much! Truthfully, I feel that I ramble too much and take a long time to come to the point. But it seems to be my style and I'm stuck with it. I'm fortunate that there are those who enjoy it.Hugs,Dianne
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