Sunday Morning Thoughts on Clouds 30

Its that time again. The itch for more CL wildness has come again.

Sunday Morning Thoughts on Clouds - 30
Reply to: pers-123673638@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-01-08, 3:08PM PST


I lounged in bed all morning reading and letting my thoughts swirl and eddy in my brain. I thought about the magic of consciousness: that I could enjoy the warmth and coziness of the down comforter, the fire engine red flannel sheets, the winter light peeking between the drapes while at the same time reflecting on my reading. Every once in a while I find a book that engages me like an exciting conversation, like the book I was reading this morning. When you meet an intriguing stranger and suddenly you find a kindred spirit and the talk is punctuated by "you too!" and "I have never heard that so well put!" "I thought about that before, but you shed a new light on it!" Time stops and the topics roll and ebb and you are barely able to keep up. You are out of breath and chasing a delightful puppy through a meadow full of beautiful flowers, as soon as you enjoy one, the puppy leaps up again and the chase resumes and you attention is pulled by another delightful observation. Then you notice that hours have gone by and the sun is down, that you are thirsty and hungry. But it doesn't matter, because you haven't been so excited and stimulated in such a long time. You are bushed, but that is okay, its the sweet exhaustion brought on by real work, real discovery. Your world is a richer, deeper place. You look at the sky, and you see the amazing fractal boundaries of the clouds and instead of being overwhelmed by the meaningless detail (or maybe you see Eakin's profile), you see the underlying order. In your mind's eye you fly up and look at the boundary between the cloud and the sky, dazzled by its beauty and the impossible, ever changing geometry. I'd like to have a partner who is as interesting as the book that I was reading this morning.

When I reached a point of total brain over-stimulation, I decided to get up. I was afraid that I laid in bed any longer, total physical atrophy would set in. My stomach told me it was empty. Why eat an egg alone, when I can call my friend and we can take advantage of the pristine, million dollar Flip Flop morning and walk to pastries and hot beverages at the Buttery? The Buttery won. My friend arrived and the dialog continued, only in facetime. We talked about our reading and our thoughts. She pointed things out that I hadn't realized before. We watched the clouds roil and twist across the wide California sky.




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I was reading Gleick's Chaos (hence the reference to fractals) and it was very stimulating. I didn't want it to be a book review. I was hoping to find the essence of what I found exciting about it. Thanks, Celestial Being, for the trip to the Buttery today.