I have always found it hard and unsettling to stay in the same place. Place can mean a lot of things. As human beings we are constantly curious about what’s around the next corner. We live in a world that is constantly in your face. Although we are advanced comparably to any other known species, a cat, jumping from something 5 times their height, will land on their feet…unharmed…if you’re reading this, don’t try it. You’re not a cat, and IF you land on your feet…
The nervous system has a specific sensory system or organ, dedicated to each sense. Humans have a multitude of senses. Sight (ophthalmoception), hearing (audioception), taste (gustaoception), smell (olfacoception or olfacception), and touch (tactioception) are the five traditionally recognized. ‘Traditionalt recognized’- sounds simple. We’ve developed languages, with words to simplify and categorize everything; Boy or Girl? It’s clear to see that reality isn’t really that simple. We are not computers. Emotions are unique, expressive reactions to the beating these traditional senses take. From your first breath to your very last. The beauty unveils when you discover how to direct feelings and express this over abundance of emotion. That one thing that when your doing it, it is the only thing in the world that matters. It is an amazing thing to find your bliss. I’ve found bliss in being a daughter, a sister, a friend but most of all; being a mother. It is even more amazing when other people see the beauty, and your expression portrays new perspective. We live in a world of difference awaiting another piece to fall unti place. Among us are breathtaking masterpieces of expression. We are taken by Vincent van Gogh, let me look at starry night. We envy Beethoven and the symphony is that we will never write. These glorified monumental pieces of art leave us in awe. The single creation of a master hand, in sync biologically through the central nervous system, battered by emotional, perspective, experience. Each person creates a new perspective reacting to the emotional impact relayed by one or more of your five senses. I find it easier than ever to compare perspective of music—pick one song; YouTube it. Listen to the original, hear the different layers, notice how they come together. When it’s over add the words ‘cover’ to your search bar. You will be overloaded with hundreds of different perspectives of that very same song. Each musician promises to deliver a different yet unique version.
I’ve stopped trying to see the beauty in everything. I will no longer sit through that of poor quality. As it seems like self mutilation in a less dramatic or physically destructive form yet still harmful to your mental health.
There are resesrches everywhere studying a type of sensory overload; Information overload (also known as infobesity or infoxication). This refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that is caused by the presence of too much information.
The term is popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock, but is mentioned in a 1964 book by Bertram Gross, The Managing of Organizations. Speier et al. (1999) stated:
“Information overload occurs when the amount of input to a system exceeds its processing capacity. Decision makers have fairly limited cognitive processing capacity. Consequently, when information overload occurs, it is likely that a reduction in decision quality will occur.”
It only seems fair to occasionally put your senses in check. I challenge you to question those sensory intakes that created your beliefs. Revisit those that helped form your sense of stability. Those that determine beauty and what is beautiful. Why is it beautiful? Hear the sound. Can you touch it? Does it smell good? What does it look like? Clear some room for new data. Look at those things and try to gain a new perspective. Listen to your favorite song like it was the very first time you’ve ever heard it. As you prepare yourself for travel, make a list. List four things that are beautiful, four things that make you angry or scowl and four things you haven’t experienced; two you believe will be good and two you feel would be bad and uncomfortable. With the new connections we have learned to make between music, art, culture and the city or impact of ones surroundings, try to experience each thing you listed in this new unfamiliar environment. You can’t do everything, or be everywhere but you can learn to wake up and see a new person looking back at you in the mirror, just as every morning is a new day. Challenge old habits and clear a space in your brain for new perspective, a new experience of those senses everyday. You already experience them everyday but we don’t acknowledge them. We’ve trained our brains to look straight ahead to our next destination, to block out the soundscape of our everyday life. Step out of yourself for a minute even if it’s uncomfortable. This will ensure that you learn something different everyday. Oh and be patient! Because everything usually works out if you keep it a possibility.
