I am reminded of a post on
2 December 2012 called 'Fracture and Healing'; it s a short quote from Edgar. N. Jackson's 'The Many Faces of Grief.' The principle metaphor is of the trees, whilst being seemingly identical in genus, responding entirely differently to the same external force, over the same period of time. Jackson is making the comparison with the human condition to illustrate how we are all different in how we deal with the universal and inevitable concept of grief or for my purposes, all emotional injury. Our ability to cope with a shared trauma is conditional on a genetic hidden integrity.
As an adopted person from birth, I have no social or biological information about my birth parents, I am denied the clues available to others that may indicate my current and future genetic strength. In this regard I objectify myself and observe my development without the original to compare.
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| Selfie with Block_2430 and 2429 © Richard Ansett 2014 |
I had not found an example 'in the world' that comes close to the Jackson metaphor until last weekend. I was walking along Seton Beach, just outside Edinburgh, Scotland and all along the front I observed identical concrete blocks, scattered, (I am assuming as a sea wall). Each block, whilst seemingly identical, is responding differently to the long term attrition of the waves, all within the same timeline. It is an inescapable bombardment of the same force applied to each block and each responds and is evolving into a unique structure.
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| Image_G11_2430, from series 'Exploring the Varying Genetic Structural Integrity of Seemingly Identical Concrete Blocks © Richard Ansett 2014' |
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| Image_G11_2431, from series 'Exploring the Varying Genetic Structural Integrity of Seemingly Identical Concrete Blocks © Richard Ansett 2014' |
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| Image_G11_2429, from series 'Exploring the Varying Genetic Structural Integrity of Seemingly Identical Concrete Blocks © Richard Ansett 2014' |
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| Image_G11_2426, from series 'Exploring the Varying Genetic Structural Integrity of Seemingly Identical Concrete Blocks © Richard Ansett 2014' |
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| Image_G11_2437, from series 'Exploring the Varying Genetic Structural Integrity of Seemingly Identical Concrete Blocks © Richard Ansett 2014' |
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| Image_G11_2440, from series 'Exploring the Varying Genetic Structural Integrity of Seemingly Identical Concrete Blocks © Richard Ansett 2014' |
I wonder if we could scan the blocks, that we could get a history and a map of the traumas they had each faced, differentiated no doubt by the position they were lying, the proximity to the sea, the exposure to the air and the sun... I wonder if we could scan our bodies, the neurons in the brain, the arteries and veins, the density of the tissue we could get a history and a map of the traumas we had each faced..
ReplyDeleteIn a human none of it would be useful without a corresponding map of the vacuums that opened up where there is no response to a need expressed at every point of development. Survival depends upon a relationship with the environment which gets our physical and emotional needs met. What is the force of the unmet need upon the living organism?
Feeling more of a part of our environment comes from an acceptance and awareness of our shared incomprehensible complexity. These blocks appear to be degrading in this sequence but that is an accident of layout. All blocks have equal value as they exist within this community and offer a uniqueness to the block community. Damage is an inevitable consequence of the adult experience, how I manage trauma defines my adult personality and attempts at awareness is the key to balance and acceptance of myself and how I engage with the world.
DeleteIronically perhaps, I feel there should be no assumed shared experience; it is a barrier to empathy. An acceptance of uncertainty creates an open ground for engagement with others, but I would say that right?
I do use the word 'seemingly' in the title which covers my arse in accepting factitious environmental factors at play but my ambivalence as consequence of my adoption is inevitably on show. Its my super power, it is an antidote to my complacency. But the environmental factors represent society and the inevitable attrition as we engage with it; it is a constant although our position in relation to it varies, the genetic propensity is unique.