Someone once said to me there are two types of mind. One like a filing cabinet, which files away information neatly
and in an ordered manner, ready for retrieval when needed. He said there is also
another type of mind, which is not orderly, but is like a head full of
butterflies fluttering round sometimes getting things right but not always
remembering things when they were needed. He said that he was like the filing
cabinet and that I was like the butterflies and that he would rather be like he
was than having the chaos of the fluttery mind.
After I removed my hands from round his throat I sat and
wondered if it was really an insult. I can’t disagree with the fact that yes, I
do fit the description of a person with a head full of butterflies. I can
remember facts, sometimes and usually half an hour after it was needed but I
can’t say I can confidently extract the right file from an orderly section of
my brain. I do understand difficult concepts but the words I require to contribute
to an in depth discussion are usually on the tip of my tongue and the
conversation moves on before I can relocate the information and articulate it. Sometimes I can but this is not something I can do regularly. But
I can confidently say that I am more creative than the person who gave me this
analogy.
It is said that creativity is when two completely unrelated
ideas collide to create something new. Now, yes of course, in all likelihood
there are folk who have a filing cabinet surrounded by butterflies, but I am
not one of these people.
In deep discussion on
another subject I will pipe up something tangentially related and people will
give me that look. They look at me as if I’ve just thrown a cabbage on the table and asked them have they met my new 'friend'. Sometimes people think it’s a great idea and sometimes it looks like a
contributing factor to getting me sectioned. I can’t help it. Even my own
husband has to check where in the conversation we are I jump around so much. But the
butterflies are what make creativity possible for me. One will pop to the
surface of consciousness randomly with a gem of an idea “There you go madam,
here’s a bobby dazzler” (My butterflies are northern) and scoot off again. They are
not usually at my beck and call either. They sometimes abandon me. But they
come along now and again when I write. Sometimes they will have
something useful, sometimes it will be a re-run of Prisoner Cell Block H.
I will always envy those with perfect retrieval, but how can
you make new connections when it’s all filed neatly in alphabetical order? You
need some butterflies in there. A load
of butterflies flying round in a small space, chances are they are going to
collide quite a bit, and create some new ideas. Then one will pop to the
surface saying “He just hit me it’s not fair!” and bring with him a glut of
information, and possibly get you in trouble.
Life’s much more interesting with a bit of chaos.
9 comments:
"There you go madam, here’s a bobby dazzler"
why does this sentance make me think of an dold man wapping out his cock.
I'm full of butterflies like you, who would want to be anything else. Boring minds make boring people x
"wapping out his cock" hahahah! little buggers got you as well!
My butterflies are mostly very drunk.
Nikki that means you have some great ideas, I know I collide more with objects when I'm drunk.
Great minds think alike .... that's what they say isn't it? I think my earlier message to you today can verify that I can fully sympathise. Lol. Don't know if mine would qualify as butterflies though, more like moths. ;-) x
Butterflyling Cabinets?
As always - a brilliant post.
Ash
I love butterfiles (not a typo), I love the photo and I love this post.
Dani, your comment is beautiful and makes my curry creep back up by throat to say hello.
Just to stretch the analogy further...If we have butterfiles in our brains, does that mean we ate caterpills?
Sorry, that last comment was Vicky. Ra was signed in :)
i think mine are moths. Big ones too judging by the size of their balls.
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