Image from blog.mentallycharged.com
Reflection on guest speaker: Lisa Freinkel
A) Though not a completely new idea to me, I had never before mustered the discipline to take the time and examine a food in a slow, measured way, one that required the careful concentration of all my senses. Overall, the experience reminded me very much of this scene.
B) A major takeaway from the speaker, immediately applicable to my current project, was the idea of self-imposed rules. Even over the course of gathering introductory material and locating more in-depth sources, I have noticed an increasing anxiety within myself concerning which direction to take the project in, as if I needed to know right this second. I found the reminder to relax, and to let things unfold along their own course, greatly reduced my stress and even allowed me to see the whole thing in a better light.
C) Even now as I sit here, I find I have re-discovered the simple joy which comes from typing, itself a very tactile and exact exercise. The idea from today that applies to my life is that each activity, whether that means eating a food that I’ve enjoyed many times, reading poem that I have memorized, or running familiar route, can always be re-examined at a deeper level. Through this re-examination often comes new insight or appreciation, and to understand and to appreciate the world around us are two of the most basic goals in both art and in science, disciplines that are not only the focus of this course, but have captured my attention on countless occasions.