I look for patterns everywhere in nature and art. I think I do this because I am unable to find and to stick to patterns in life; in fact, I reject pattern. I am not certain what about me does not enjoy the process of repetition, but I can tell you once I have done any thing somewhat successfully, I never in my life need to do this same thing again ever. This unfortunate, nagging desire for newness pervades my every aspect of being. Having said that, there are times I know that I am actually fortunate to have this quality. I will never look back on any aspect of my life and wonder why I didn’t try this or do that. I will look back on my life and only wonder fleetingly why I didn’t stick to this or that, which is very different, of course. But people, like me, can live with that because we tried. We may have failed miserably at something, but we tried it.
To try something requires a leap of faith. It’s like when your a kid and someone asks you to “try” a hunk of stinky cheese or something as benign as a mushroom. Kid in question eyes and sniffs the prospective bite and instinctually casts this food aside as “inedible ” or not worth even trying. Ten years later, grown kid in question understands that, while something like gorgonzola, mushrooms or red wine may appear to look inedible or to simply stink, it still might hold some appeal to the palate or the senses. Cheeses have that umami you cannot really understand as a kid. Mushrooms are a culinary “blank slate,” so full of nutrients–who cares if they are the fruiting bodies of a fungus? Not me! And red wine, well, need I say more…. My point is, if you don’t ever try something, how can you ever know if it’s not good and right for you? I’ll take a BIG leap and liken this to travel and moving. Wait, did I just jump from mushrooms to moving? Yes, I did, and I can because it’s my blog!
Which brings me somehow back to patterns. If you are not ever able to break a pattern, how can you try something new? I think this could apply as much to a new form of exercise or diet as it could to a major life change, such as a change of locale. I wish that I were as able to establish a new, more efficient daily routine as easily as I glide into an entirely new personna somewhere, anywhere–for me, this is effortless. Tonight, I offer this roof top screen from the Manarat Al-Saadiyat Museum. I am in awe of arabesque pattern. I blogged recently about my love or Middle Eastern art and architecture. This is a lovely example of a nuanced take on the traditional roof screen. It’s not utilitarian in any way, as it doesn’t effectively block the sun. Instead, it’s another way to view the sky and to artfully shield you from the harsh, Middle Eastern sun.
Roof Screen at the Manarat Al Saadiyat Museum