I seem to be pacing from one state of mind to the next. Ever-flowing, ever-changing, never still; my brain literally hurts. Often, I find my hands flying in the air in conversation with myself and with dear friends. Motioning to the left: grad school, a 'straight' job, paying off loans, accumulating more debt, structure, sitting, staring, crossing my legs... And when my hands go to the right, my stomach jumps: playing music, writing tunes, taking kids and teens on backpacking trips, living out of a car, moving to Memphis, furthering a resourceful network of individuals around the world, climbing, scabbed hands from the rock, screaming out to your partner that you're climbing on the 4th, 6th, 10th pitch on world-class granite monoliths...In my Mind, Body, World class (cognitive
science within psychology departm
ent with Ray Gibbs) we are discussing metaphors. We use gestures as a form of embodied cognition. Describing abstract concepts in ways that relate to the way we experience the world literally, our words and actions depict our unconscious perception of life. Growing up in a traditional western home, I foresee time as a sort of continuum or time-line, moving from left to right. The left being the past and the right being the future. My mannerisms are no coincidence. I must follow the hand gestures to the right, while maintaining the feasibility of the left. If I move left, I will be taking a step back.
One step forward, one step back: repeat... I'm dancing, I guess. But I want to run.