A Haven for Vee

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Perceptions

GrandCentral: receive calls and post voicemail with your blog

Hmmm, wonder if Blogger is getting a lot of buzz about that one. I'm trying to imagine who in the world would want that service; obviously, someone who isn't trying to hide on the World Wide Web. ;>

Last night around 10, I discovered, via my tracker, that my niece had very cleverly used a few key words and was now sitting on my blog having reviewed umpteen pages. I called and left a message to please call me back, which she did.

"Whatcha doing?" asks I.

"Nothing, I'm on the internet," says she.

"Yes, you're on my blog!" (Subtle, eh?)

A little nervous chuckle, "I'm just looking at the pictures. It's pretty Martha Stewart...really kinda dull."

"That's right, nothing for you to see there so move along."

"You can see me?"

And that was when I was very grateful for my tracker. Not only could I "see" her, I knew the words she used to find me. I shared them. She was properly awed.

Oh, btw, just so this is on the front page now and not in comments, my niece took the photo that I am using in my header. Phew! One less thing on my mind to feel guilty over.

So now I have joined all of you who share freely with your families, read one another's blogs, and have a sense of connectedness with your own communities. Except that I'd hoped that it would never happen.

All this leads me to a discussion about perception. Yes, I am a deep thinker. LOL!

We sometimes feel as if things are one way when they are not. Feelings and truths are rarely one. For example, I took this photo when I saw that the reflection in the mirror was pleasing:



It is pleasing, but very little of it is based in reality. There are reflections that cause one to wonder exactly how many books, plants there are. The colors have been enhanced and the quality of the light isn't exactly as it was.

I remember a lecture where the professor shared that no one knows how he or she is perceived in this world because we never see ourselves as we are. Of all the people that we see in dimensional ways, the one we never see is our own person. "Even mirrors are very little help to us," he said.

That's when I stopped taking notes and really started to listen. Thankfully, someone asked why. So we got an interesting piece of information that day. All mirrors are distortions. When we see ourselves we are not seeing our entire mass. We are less.

Every woman in the class woke up then.

Less?!!

The professor continued to explain that we could try this for ourselves: look at our faces in a mirror and draw a line across the top point of our heads and the bottom line of our chins right there on the glass...step back and see how far apart those two lines are and decide whether your head could possibly be that small.

It was a very interesting discussion. It was a very interesting experiment.

What's my point? Not sure exactly other than to say that sometimes we think that we are hiding when we're not, that we believe we're writing fascinating things and we're not (if nieces are to be believed), and that things are not just exactly as they seem.

25 comments:

  1. I know whatcha mean! Sometimes I wish that some members of my community wouldn't read my bloggedy and discover my true manic nature! :)

    Nice bloggedy!

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  2. LOL...I'm not hiding ..I live so very far away that I use my blog to say "I'm still here!"...makes me feel less guilty about not making a phone call or sending out the family newsletter!
    Hugs,
    Robin

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  3. Good morning Vee- I DO like your clock header - great photo your niece took for you there. You are a deep thinker indeed. And with my brain still fuzzy from antibiotics and cough medicine, WAYYYY over my head this morning. I'll read it again later when this bug I've got (that won't go away) decides to leave. Tracker, huh? where do you get a tracker? That would be interesting to see who's watching you! Vickie

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  4. I just drew those lines on the mirror and then I traced my whole face - your right - much smaller than reality.
    I started my blog for family and friends and only a few of them read it.

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  5. One thing we must never believe, even for an instant, is that we are ever private on the Net.

    Never. Never. Never.

    If your niece "found" you ~ imagine how easily a true computer geek could do so.

    Nope. No, no, no privacy {I like the Brit pronunciation of that ~ PRIV-acy}!

    Know this, all ye who tread the Net! Know it. Never be surprised by it. Never close your eyes to it.

    Then, just go on and have fun! ,-)

    Mari-Nanci

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  6. Is this the same niece that's getting the redwork rooster dish towel? The same niece who stopped by to take you out for supper? I'm thinking her Martha Stewart comment would be a compliment (only we don't find Martha dull!!!). Hope your style doesn't change...now that you are writing for your family!

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  7. It is amazing just how easy it is to find people on the web...except maybe the ones you are really looking for. The Grand Central idea doesn't appeal to me at all...a few of my close (in proximity) friends and I rely on email only...phone conversations always run longer and usually are such time wasters. It's so much easier to just bang out an email with specifics. I'm always taken aback when I'm talking to my brother (far, far away) on the phone and he quotes something I've written on the blog. Kinda scary. Okay...going back into my cave now.

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  8. Oh my darlin'...I learned so long ago that nothing is ever as it seems. Whether it is our reflection, our relationship, or just our boneheaded selves. I don't know whether that's a shame or a blessing! LOL I guess it's just how you look at it! : ) Oh...and I want to know all about that tracker you use! Seriously...email me about it! I want it! Take care!
    Jan

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  9. My favorite post, so far...you are a gem Vee...did you see the picture on the web of the guy taking a picture of his dresser and mirror to put in the paper? Too bad he didn't dress himself before he took the picture, lol...too funny!
    hugs
    Sandi

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  10. OK, first of all, in case you saw me sitting on your comments page for a long time, I was trying to eat my lunch and compose a comment at the same time, and lunch won! :)

    I felt the same way when I first read about the blogger/phone call thingy. And as far as perceptions go, THAT is a lesson I wish I had learned years ago.

    Thanks for a very perceptive post!
    xoxo,
    Mary
    BTW, love your niece's photo!

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  11. Vee, this is a very thought-provoking post AND very interesting...despite what your niece thinks! I've only told my husband about my blog. It is a matter of time, I guess, before my little circle hears about it. Oh well, nothing to hide here! Really terrific post, Vee! P.S. Sitemeter is awesome!

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  12. Loving this post! In case you saw me here twice, the first time I was half way through my comment and the power went off! Had to reboot and start all over again.
    Penny

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  13. hahaha... now they all feel guilty hanging out on your blog for more than a minute.

    So... let me see.... we are pinheads? is that it? Smaller than we think? okay then.

    I think I will leave all the deep thinking to you .... I am using my blog for my own entertainment... once in a blue moon my sister reads it... my other sister could care less about me and mine... my brother is on dial up...

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  14. You are the folks for whom I write. I don't write for my family; they're not really interested. It's a temporary novelty for them, if it's anything at all.

    I love having you all visit and I love it when you stay for a while. Don't worry about explaining a thing to me! :D

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  15. BumbleVee, you are reading way more into that than I meant! ROFL!!

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  16. It must be a day for deep thinking. Perception and reality simply aren't the same, thank goodness. Ironically, I have two family blogs in addition to the one that I write for my own enjoyment. One of them is very popular among my nieces and nephews. If my dearest ones read my personal blog, it's news to me because they never comment. BTW, thank you for stopping by and reading about Jane. She would love your post. I did.

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  17. Much to think about in this post. Sometimes we try to increase hits to our blog, and when we do we wonder if we really want to!

    Thanks for giving me something to think about.

    LaTeaDah

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  18. Vee this was incredibly interesting. I am always amazed at who I run into and they confess they read my blog. I also note that though my family reads my blog, very few ever comment. This one leaves me perplexed. Perhaps I am not what I think I am and they percieve me differently?

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  19. I love your header. I have a tracker on my flickr, but I didn't know quite how to install it on my blogger. My family reads my blog, but they rarely leave a comment. It's sweet that she was browsing through your blog. It's a lovely blog to browse. Blessings, Karen

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  20. Very interesting thoughts Vee. It's true that all mirrors are distorted. They are distorted by the lens of the observer. We all see things in the mirror from our own perspective. From your niece's perspective your blog is "Martha" and kind of dull, from my perspective it's beautiful and thoughtful.

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  21. Lots to think about here, Vee! I know some of my family read my blog and I have purposely not shared it with others. My blog is a part of me that I'm not sure others who know me would understand ... if I knew they were reading it would probably change what I write. I had no idea trackers were even out there! Scary! :) ~ hugs, Lynda xo

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  22. I know that my mother reads my blog every day and honestly I do censor myself with that in mind. It is especially funny when I post a recipe and photo of something she really likes. She'll phone me and ask if I'm going to share it with her. "Don't forget you have a mother" she'll tell me, joking. It makes me laugh and of course, I'm always happy to share.

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  23. Vee, I appreciated this post. I feel I rarely see myself the way the world sees me. I see less than I am. I believe we are taught to do so. However, there is hope always! We are all every single experience we have ever been through. Others see us through every single experience they have ever been through, they don't actually see us! That's my two cents!~ Thanks for visiting my blog. I will visit yours more often.

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  24. It has been beyond interesting to read these comments. I could write several more posts about the issues raised here behind the scenes. I don't know whose perceptions are the more accurate...the ones that others have of us or the ones that we have of ourselves.

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  25. Vee,
    Yes you do see me lurking about on all the comments on this page. This is something I try not to think about too often, how I am perceived, or I'd become a paranoid people pleaser for sure. It is kind of nice to be blissfully ignorant of ones self-perception. Fun thought provoking post though, I gotta run, I need to try that mirror trick!

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