Early impressions are lasting. I love the story of a man who compulsively collected swans without understanding why. On cleaning out the attic when his grandmother died, he came across a crib mobile...of swans. Gently soaring overhead, they circled a visiting grandchild and made a lasting impression on him, even if he could not consciously remember this mobile.
For me, it was the harlequin pattern. I found myself gravitating to anything with the elongated diamonds (not to be confused with argoyle). Eventually I came across the "ugly" brown and yellow harlequin blanket my parents had received as a wedding gift. It was stuffed out of sight for decades, but the blanket had imprinted itself in my brain, and I was harlequin obsessed.
The workings of the mind mystify me always. I tried to find something online about early impressions on brains too young to remember --what images will our babies see but not recall--something like this:
If you are inexplicably drawn to something, chances are, you encountered it in infancy but didn't consciously remember it.
But this is the closest I came:
What enters the subconscious of any mind will become a part of that mind, and will, to a degree, affect the nature, the character, the quality, the thoughts and the actions of that mind. Impressing the Subconscious
May we all be imprinted with lovely things, benign things, like swans and harlequins.
At 18, I read "The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James. One scene must have embedded in my subconscious. Recently I revisited the novel and this leaped out at me:
Henrietta had but three days in Florence. She “reminded herself that they must not elapse without her paying another visit to her favorite work of art,” a Coreggio painting of “the Virgin kneeling down before the sacred infant, who lies in a litter of straw, and clapping her hands to him while he delightedly laughs and crows. Henrietta had a special devotion to this intimate scene–she thought it the most beautiful picture in the world.”
[Enter Caspar Goodwood]
“I wonder if you’ve seen my Correggio,” said Henrietta.
Goodwood's retort: “I didn’t know it was yours.”
Something stirred in me, and I remembered a Madonna print I'd bought in my 40s, not knowing why, out of the gazillions of nativity images, I just had to have that one. It was buried deep in the basement, but I quickly dredged it into the light to check the name of the artist. Indeed, it was the very one that had so captivated Henry James (Henrietta).
My Madonna print was matted but not framed. Now I need to find a worthy 16x20 frame--if I keep this on display. For now, I had included it among the Christmas decorations.
In today's Advent reading, Mary DeTurris Poust suggests we position a crucifix among our Christmas decor. Ok. Let's see how that might look.
Yes, I still celebrate Christmas (and to a lesser degree, Easter) despite all my skepticism.
Lately, I have been focusing on this image of mother and child, trying to imagine that the bond is unbreakable. All my convictions have been tested. If early impressions are lasting, I can only hope that my middle child (now a mother of three herself) will realize and remember that the most important life lesson I tried to model and instill is unconditional love.
Not all of us believe in this:
Forgiveness Always and Forever Love
But, hark, the herald angels sing of it, and 'tis the season, so I will continue to hope.
It's funny that she is a mother herself but cannot see the love without bound coming from you to her.
But cool stuff! If one is inexplicably repulsed by something, could it be related to a forgotten trauma? A child who is terrified of clowns perhaps had a clown mobile fall on her in her crib for instance. Nothing is fully forgotten. Forgiveness? I have trouble forgiving. I remain forever leary of anyone who hurt me, even if they apologize. What's to stop them from doing it again?
Hey, I'm in Nashville! We are foodies, and while we will do a couple music related events, we have seven reservations at great restaurants over the next two weeks. sorry to go off topic, I just had to tell you!
Great idea: what forgotten images or triggers might lurk in our subconscious, and we don't even remember the triggering event (the clown, the neighbor's big scary dog, the tree branch outside the window that looked like a panther staring in as you try to fall asleep, so you grow up with a fear of panthers) - That could be a whole new onion to peel, to dig down to the core, to face the things that made a profound impression on us even if we cannot remember the things without hynposis or guided therapy. Or something that sets off the "aha!" moment, like the old blanket or the swan mobile.
Thank you for reading and responding - you always get it - you're unfailingly kind!
oooh, the restaurants... blessed are those who never have to ask to see the ingredients list for fear of hidden allergens. Family time in Nashville with your daughters - may it be healing and just plain FUN even with the shadow of the empty chair at the table, the one Niko isn't physically there to occupy, but he will be included in your laughter and reminiscing. love to all of you!!!
The blanket! It served as a great backdrop for a high-school photo shoot (can you guess which gal is my middle child, which is her Friend-for-Life):
Thank you
so much for the upvote!!
Still, a very Merry Christmas to you, dear friend. Let Christmas be in our hearts and let us enjoy the holidays. Just like you, I am always thinking the same way that the bond of a mother and a child is so tight. And that, no one could love a child in as much as his or her mother could do. By the way, I love reading the “Meditation” as cited on the texts of the image. The cross is our struggle and let us always overcome it with great faith and great resilience. Have a wonderful day my friend and keep safe always.
Thanks so much for reeading and commenting!
Wishing you a Merry Christmas, too, and a safe and happy New Year. :)
Ho Ho Ho! @carolkean, one of your Hive friends wishes you a Merry Christmas and asked us to give you a new badge!
The HiveBuzz team wish you a Merry Christmas!
May you have good health, abundance and everlasting joy in your life.
To find out who wanted you to receive this special gift, click here!
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
Check out our last posts:
The elusive bride doll. My mom's father bought it for her from the small-town dime store in the late 1940s. No book of dolls has yielded a photo and ID of the "right" doll, the one she remembers. This one looked so close.
