I’ve been told
that my texts seem too dense for some readers, with hidden meanings remaining mute
at first glance. Probably some of the unexpected moves, abrupt comparisons, sudden
changes and wired associations fancied by my excited neurons preclude the normal
predictions in an unanticipated fashion. I do apologize for forcing you to hike
into such a dense tropical forest of metaphors instead of graciously inviting you
to take a nice walk on a sunny beach during a quiet afternoon. But I am not entirely
responsible for this. CORONA initiated this global movement and made us deforest
new territories overnight, and at least in my case the terrain was uneven, and rough,
and bumpy. And from my stay-home-in-confinement I troubled myself with looking at
other people to see how they are coping, and then added other institutions and businesses,
and whole industries, and finally entire countries. The disturbing and unsettling
show that resulted was so full of false notes, clumsy movements and such an amazing
series of cacophonies that I couldn’t retain any doubts that we were totally unprepared
for this challenge. And my emotions couldn’t just stay cool and remain calm, but
instead started to bump around, and excite my neurons, and clashed with my logical
thinking to such a degree that my only way out was to reduce the pressure by letting
some of them dance on the keyboard. I also tried vigorous physical movements as
a cool down strategy, but sport was only a temporary relief. So I decided to let
them out as they came, and figured it’s better to have no interference whatsoever
with the metaphor concentration they independently decide to go for.
However, I dare
offer some unsolicited advice despite the risk of being redundantly behind the already
considered possibilities you thought about from the very beginning. If you simply
don’t like such convoluted texts, find unpleasant the tropical forest hikes, and
repeatedly scratched your legs with the uncut branches, just drop your backpack
and go back to the other pleasant stuff that can satisfy your taste better. For
those who do like the hikes but find the tropical forest too dense, the tempo to
fast, or the metaphors too tropical – there are alternative solutions. You could
just go slower and take your time to smell the flowers and notice the shy ladybug
hidden under the third leaf (on the back of it, I mean!). Animated by a curiosity
that rivals National Geographic experts, I’ve sketched (even if only with my crayons
and pastels) some rare tropical species using figurative language just for your
pleasure. And if you find these hikes fun you could take the same route twice. I
promise you’ll not get bored during your second trip because I’ll impart with you
some of the scenery you’ve missed during the first adventure due to the complicated
landscape and the sudden flight of that colorful parrot that captured your attention
the first time around. I know time is an expensive commodity, and not everyone can
afford it, but it might be wiser to take one hike and fully enjoy it, than perspire
20 minutes because you wanted to pack four hikes in the same box, only to retain
the general idea and simultaneously guilty your consciousness for not working hard
enough or for stealing 1200 seconds from your family.
If you hypothesized
that going slower and taking the same hike twice is not bare theoretical talk but
imparting from personal experience, I must congratulate you for having such an astute
intuition. The slower second hikes I decided to delight myself with as a sign of
appreciation for the intellectual ornaments of ideas fancied by some authors were
oftentimes sweeter and more fruitful for me. I took the risk of going deeper into
the forest and fondle with their wild cats until they surrendered and behaved almost
as domestic animals. And at least for me those pleasures got closer and sometimes
beyond the point of experiencing an intellectual orgasm. It’s true that by following
this strategy I got to see fewer sceneries, hike on fewer mountain paths and acquainted
with fewer intellectual partners. But I value deep intimacy way above sheer numbers,
so it would take a long time for someone to persuade me out of this. But I am fully
aware that the world is diverse not only in terms of colors and races, but even
more so in terms of reading preferences. My humble intention was just to make you
contemplate the slower and/or repeated hike strategy and eventually try it once
to see how it feels. At any rate, these days diversity lovers are really happy as
they can enjoy an almost endless number of hikes and sceneries, be them real or
virtual.
This morning
I simply remembered an old saying from Proverbs: “If you find honey, eat just enough,
too much of it, and you will vomit.” (Prov. 25:16, NIV). And my brain coupled it
with the complaints from some readers, so I thought you might also benefit from
it (but even if I am plain wrong, I can still look myself in the mirror with no
guilt). And when things will get back to normal, I might take the chance to impart
with you less convoluted text designs as I hope to regain my pleasure for long and
relaxed walks on the beach during quiet afternoons.
Disclaimer: I
just hope you will find charming when I spill over the limits of my English as
a second language.
Note: If you happen to be a
journalist and think that every now and then I could contribute to the success
of your publication, be bold and came up with a good offer. However, bear in
mind that I only write about topics I deeply care, so let me drive the
roller-coaster.
Email: Bogdan.Tulbure@e-uvt.ro
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