I've named this blog my life as an artist because that's who or what I really feel I am. I really believe I am an artist and I have always felt that way. I am not using a specific medium at the moment although I have concentrated on painting over the last few years. Unfortunately, I have not painted in over a year due to a variety of reasons which I won't get into at the moment. One part of being an artist, a large part, is what is going on in one's consciousness when engaged in any activity. Which brings me to my berry experience. As many citizens of the post industrial revolution, urbanized, technology-driven world we live in, I feel I have lost touch with nature. Picking berries in my own backyard was pretty exciting.
As I was checking each berry for worms, I began to feel a connection to my hunter-gatherer ancestors. I began to feel a particular connection to my gatherer ancestors who I believe, based on various readings I have done on the origins of agriculture, were most likely the women and children of the mesolithic and neolithic eras. I wondered where I was finding the patience to inspect each berry individually and why I seemed to be getting a certain amount of satisfaction from this monotonous activity. An image of a mesolithic woman doing exactly the same thing came to me. Or could it have been a modern-day woman who still survives from this type of activity? Is this type of patience a trait that has been passed down from ancient times? Is it a trait that is more common amongst females than males? Yesterday, my attention was engaged in a similar way while sorting through my daughter's Barbie dolls and accessoires and I felt the same sort of satisfaction.
Weird.
My next post will have to deal with my Barbie experience. Stay tuned.
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In my experience I have found this ability to stay focused and concentrated on a specific activity to be stronger amongst men, atleast the ones I have known. Ofcourse interest in what they are doing is paramount.
ReplyDeleteI think both genders are equally capable of being focussed on a specific activity. In my experience, men are more interested in being focussed on activities that involve chopping and running around and throwing things (a throwback to the days of hunting with spears-men like looking heroic) whereas women are more apt to focus on acitities that focu on crouching down and sorting through small objects like seeds and berries and Barbie accessories. Though I must say, Yvon can spend a long time sorting through his nut and bolt collection. Hmmm. I suppose it has more to do with having an interest in what you're doing then the nature of the activity itself.
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