Figure and Ground

I was sitting in my marketing class the other day and we started to discuss a topic that has to do with some Gestalt psychology. The application was for advertisement of course and it had to do with items in the foreground and background. In other words, you focus on one thing and everything else is just the background that gets blurred together into a mesh of colors and shapes with no particular significance. For an example, our professor asked us to think about when someone is coming home from the airport. When they get off the plane and you are looking around all you see is a jumbled mess. That is, until you see the person you are there to get, who decidedly stands out from the rest of the crowd. You see only them and everything else becomes blurry and of little importance.

Of course, since my mind works in odd ways, I started to think about the application that this has in our everyday lives. I wondered about the people that I can pick out from a crowd. There are always a few that stand out. But the reason that this hit me so hard at the time was that I had experienced "figure and ground" a few nights before. While in a crowd of people, there was one who stood out and I could spot from anywhere I wanted. At those moments, even though this person might not be your girlfriend/boyfriend/secret lover/etc. they stand out from everything else.

Isn't that amazing? I think it truly is. The fact that we can focus in on something and know that is the place that we want to be. Nothing can take you away from that person in that moment. You are helpless and often can get caught in the awkward "i caught you staring at me" phase. You don't mean to be creepy, but there is something that makes you gravitate to said person. It's like you are living some kind of movie where the camera goes into a manual focus and picks out one singular person from a crowd. The only difference is that you have meaning, this is YOUR movie. To me, a moment like that gives me a warm feeling that starts at the fingertips and works its way through your body, giving you goosebumps along the way. Everyone should have their own figure; someone to stand out against the background of everything else. Even though all the other people in the area are important in their own right, that one person has something special. Something that you can't explain. And when the world slows down during that initial moment, embrace it. Take it all in and be excited that there is someone in your life that you can pick out of a crowd. Those types of moments are truly precious and I know that I will never take one for granted. There is a reason that happens, even if you don't know why at first, I'm sure you will find out soon enough.

Eye For An Eye (March 2008)

In order to truly understand who we are as people, individuals need to look at themselves through the eyes of others. In certain cases it can bring a new reality to light. A person can, in an ideal situation, find out that they are everything that they want, but when some people choose to take the plunge, a treacherous reality awaits them. People can either become more of an effective and understanding person. Maybe a change would be in store, or just a new insight. Because all in all, insight is the key to becoming who you truly are. Someone could go their whole lives with a facade that not only halters advancement, but cuts off their ideal persona.
Maybe someone doesn't like what they see, but then, hopefully, changes can start to occur. Maybe that person realizes that they are everything that they have come to hate, or that their intentions are all but what they perceived them as. In all, maybe everyone needs to look at themselves through someone else's eyes, because in essence, thats who everyone else sees you as, not who you truly are. And that could lead to unforseen circumstances and maybe a new view on what is actually true.

The Long Way Home

Dear reader:

This is an experiment. It is something that I have wanted to do for a very long time and is probably overdue. This blog is something that I am setting up in order to express the ideas that come to my head while I take my night drives. Some of my friends already know that after a night out, I always choose to take the long way home. There is something about the night air and being alone on the road that sparks my thoughts. My thoughts may involve analyzing the present or reflecting on the past. So in that spirit, I always wanted to put my ideas down where I could communicate these ideas. I started a blog around March of 2008 with this same idea and I never really let anyone read it. SO this one I feel should be a little more public. On my drive home tonight, I figured that I would start this up. Most of these posts will be about the things that I think of when my mind is free to roam. Often I will hear lyrics in the music i listen to that will bring forth different thoughts and emotions that I then build on and sometimes it has to do with the events that just recently ended. So, if I still have your attention, I would like to share some of these with you. Some posts will be short, some will be more lengthy but all will have a point. They will be to show a side of me that no one has ever really gotten to see. I have always wanted to write, and this seems to be the perfect way to express what I think. If you are familiar with any of my "Summer Series" notes on Facebook, these will take the same sort of premise. I loved that experience and fell in love with the feedback that people gave. So hopefully this will have the same effect. So feel free to leave any feedback or comments that you please, because I love to hear what people think about the things that I write. But for my first post, I will bring back my first post in my older blog since it's getting too late to start another tonight. So welcome, and hopefully you will enjoy the ramblings of a night driver who fell in love with taking the long way home...