rene magritte

good-faith-1965(1).jpg!Large — “Good Faith” by Rene Magritte (1965)

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THINGS TO THINK
by Robert Bly

Think in ways you’ve never thought before
If the phone rings, think of it as carrying a message
Larger than anything you’ve ever heard,
Vaster than a hundred lines of Yeats.

Think that someone may bring a bear to your door,
Maybe wounded and deranged: or think that a moose
Has risen out of the lake, and he’s carrying on his antlers
A child of your own whom you’ve never seen.

When someone knocks on the door, think that he’s about
To give you something large: tell you you’re forgiven,
Or that it’s not necessary to work all the time, or that it’s
Been decided that if you lie down no one will die.

~ from Morning Poems (HarperCollins, 1997)

the-listening-room-1952(1).jpg!Blog — “The Listening Room” by Rene Magritte (1952)

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Talk about a big apple. 🙂

Are you willing to set aside expectations, assumptions, preconceptions?

We usually see what we expect to see, and as Anais Nin said, “What we are familiar with, we cease to see.”

Quite ironic that though human beings are gifted with boundless imaginations, we inevitably become self-limiting creatures, victims of habit and predictable patterns of behavior, often moving through our days with rote responses.

Each of us operates with our own set of hidden assumptions. At the crux of creativity is the ability to let go of these, to not be so quick to label, judge, and disregard many potentially good ideas because of pre-conditioning.

Bly’s poem invites us to remain open to all possibilities. The function of art is to renew and alter our perceptions.

What if?

It could very well happen.

fine-realities-1964(1).jpg!Large — “Fine Realities” by Rene Magritte (1964)

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The lovely Sheri Doyle is hosting this week’s Roundup. We wish her Dad a belated Happy 90th Birthday and many happy returns! In yet another case of happy coincidence, she mentioned that her Dad received a set of famous mustaches as a gift. Just yesterday I had posted a new poll in my sidebar, asking readers to vote for their favorite “cookie duster.” So now I mustache you, “Do great minds think alike, or what?” BTW, one of our favorite poets is in the running :).