This is something I've been wanting to post about for a bit, but thought it was way toooo crazy maybe. Anyway here goes, if you pictured your mind what kind of room would it look like?
When I do that I always get this room which is like an attic sort of place, right at the top of a house with 3 big windows (yes 3!) looking out at a lovely view of grasslands and far away a hint of water. on some days it's a river and on others a glimpse of the sea. Sometimes I see the back of a little girl (my inner child?) with 2 pigtails, at the left window, gazing out at the landscape. As I write I can see a squashy sofa in the rightside corner (couldn't draw it). But sometimes it's a hammock hanging there. The back of the room is blue, hazy, but curved. There are floor to ceiling shelves and drawers, all closed. Funnily, the floor is always wood(wooden head?) . Generally a peaceful place. I retreat to this place sometimes when life seems too overwhelming, but retreating there is a much rarer occasion nowadays I realise:)
Actually this imaging helped me a great deal during the time I was in depression or found something too difficult to deal with just then, but when knew I had to get on with my life without carrying over all that for the sake of the children I love and who needed me without baggage. So what I used to tell myself was that all the not so good things happening, or memories that made me upset would be dealt with only later, when I was free. I would then imagine them locked up in the floor to ceiling shelves. At that time though, the shelves were way up front and mostly all the drawers were locked with keys in them. But the front of the room was swept clean and was totally empty, so that I could carry on with my daily life without the messiness of my private unhappinesses strewn about. Very rarely, on holidays, I tidied an occasional drawer.
But now, with time and with having finally gotten over my depression, my mind room has become more spacious (issues dealt with and out of the way) and a more relaxed place but still a useful place to have.
So then what do you see when you picture the room of your conscious mind?
Not a crazy question at all. A very interesting question indeed. My mind is like the back room of a national library. It is filled with very tall wooden filing cabinets. Each cabinet is packed with information but, unfortunately, some of the labels have fallen off the cabinets. Nothing is in alphabetical order, some of the files have fused together and won't open, and others have faded due to the drawers being left open accidentally. There are a few cobwebs around and ladders going to the main cabinets which contain important information such as my name, the children's names, the husband's name, where I live and how to get home... Quite concerning really, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteHow thought provoking! I think if my mind were to be described as a room, it would be a kitchen....a sun filled kitchen with a central island. On top of this central island would be all sorts of appliances, food in various stages of preparation, the odd glass of wine, magazines, bits of paper with notes on them reminding me to do stuff. But most importantly of all, gathered around the central island would be my family and friends...all the people I love and cherish. All of us laughing and smiling. The noise would be horrendous as loads of different conversations are taking place all at the same time. It's a happy, warm and social place that above all else is filled with love.
ReplyDeletelovely vicki.b and very interesting word imp. Guess, I'm essentially a loner, hence the unpeopled place:)
ReplyDeleteInteresting indeed! I had never thought about this before reading your post, but I guess my mind would be a cozy attic room that's warm and bright while rain patters on the windows outside. There are lots of posters of different countries on the walls, as well as articles from other countries: artifacts, clothing, and random instruments strewn about. These are probably embodiments of my dreams of travelling. There are also tons of books, and yes, the sticky notes reminding me to do all those little things I tend to forget if I don't write them down...and maybe a cat or two scampering through the mayhem. :)
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I really never thought about what my mind would look like up there.
ReplyDeleteI am getting a mental picture of a room with windows on three walls, like a three season room. There are comfortable wicker furniture in it. Sunlight can come through all day, keeping the darkness (of depression?) at bay. In the corner, there is a four-drawer filing cabinet. One drawer has all the things in there that I don't forget (my name, birthdays, holidays, etc), the second drawer has the most recent memories, the third drawer has the more important things I need to remember but need reminders, and the fourth drawer (the bottom) which is locked, by the way, has all the painful memories and things I push away or don't want to think about. I see a bookshelf full of books I want to read. Of course, a computer at a desk in another corner so I can keep in touch with the world and still get the benefit of seeing the world in three corners. It's bright (but not too bright) and airy with just the right amount of warmth. It's a room to be comfortable in. There is no danger. There is no criticism. Just a tranquil room.
It is interesting to think about isn't it?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting concept Sue - I think most of us people a room in our minds which sometimes crop up in dreams - my room also has many tall windows which are curtained with long muslin curtains on orange - I have very little furniture in the room - I do have a lot of books -this is a place I escape to when the going gets tough - around my age with 2 growing children things seem so much more complex somehow. I have neither a television nor a computer or a telephone but yes I can watch the sun set each day over the sea - I have bougainvillea creepers around, yes .Sometimes I can see AG around too.
ReplyDeleteSorry - the typo imp crept in - that should be "people have" and Curtains in orange"
ReplyDeleteGive me a room with lots of sunshine, soft playing music, flowering plants near one window, memories all piles in one corner for me to look thru whenever I feel lonesome.
ReplyDeleteI used to have this same dream for years- there was this house with the porch going around two sides of it. And on each side of the porch was a backless cot. On each cot was one of my bro`s twins , who are always small and laying beside each of them was an older sister. Twins were always asleep. Funny thing is I can`t remember ever seeing a house like that one, and today those twins are grown up parents. The onlt new set of twins died at premature childbirth. To this day, I still can remember that house and all even though it makes no sense.
Or mental rooms are all so interesting aren't they?
ReplyDeleteThe room at the back, blue, hazy, curved, with floor-to-ceiling shelves and bookcases, closed, is that the repressed unconscious? If opened abruptly, do terrifying memories blare into the front two rooms, the conscious mind, terrifying and haunting? Does one then confront this memory, expunge the imprint on the being?
ReplyDeleteYour ‘ from your inner self” essay got me thinking susan. I find I have several rooms where my memory takes me . Each one previous.
ReplyDelete