Catch the Effect or Catch Cold
I currently have a small obsession with Oscar Wilde. I have been studying his life. I have been reading his work.
Well, yesterday, while I was waiting for my sons, who were at their weekly chess club gathering; I became intrigued by the title of one of Wilde's essays - "The Decay of Lying." I thought, perhaps, it would be an article about how lying decays the liar. Of course, I should have known better with it coming from Oscar Wilde.
The more I read "The Decay of Lying," the more impressed I became. There were several statements I underlined. The one that really stood out to me, however, was this one: "Where the cultured catch an effect, the uncultured catch cold." This one-sentence quote comes in the midst of Wilde's discussion of life imitating art rather than art imitating life. In this particular paragraph, he writes of impressionistic art.
At risk of sounding arrogant (I certainly mean no offense to Oscar Wilde, who was truly, in my opinion, a literary genius), I slightly modify this quote when I think of what it means to me. I think of it as, "Those who do not live life in a bubble of plans and schemes catch the effect. Those who do live life in a bubble of plans and schemes catch cold."
Please allow me to explain.
I cannot tell you how many conversations I have that are about the weather and about the hatred of rain, hatred of snow, hatred of cold, hatred of dreary days, hatred of fog - in short, hatred of anything that is not warm, sunny, time-to-go-lie-on-the-beach weather. People often comment that I am crazy when I say I find the rain and the fog inspiring. These weather events are perfect for reading and writing. These same people comment they do not understand how I can enjoy cold weather or too much snow (snow other than that which falls on Christmas Eve).
It saddens me that people's joy depends so much upon the weather. I often wonder why.
This is just my analysis, but I wonder if it is because people are planners. They plan what they can do in warm, sunny weather. But then comes the rain. The rain ruins their hair and spots their sunglasses. The fog clouds their vision. The snow makes them bundle up and feel uncomfortable. In short, the weather affects their well-planned-out ideas. And plans are what make the world go 'round. Plans are what make us feel in control of our future, of our very being.
I used to be a planner. I used to have an idea of how everything should be. That was the way it was going to be, no matter what. But you know what? Life happens, and it happens outside of our plans. As much as we would like to think we are in control of everything, we're not. Something will always be there to interrupt our plans. We can choose, as someone (I'm not positive who), once said, to dance in the rain or just get wet. We can choose to catch the effect of the rain, of the snow, of the fog, of the cold, or we can catch cold. Life is going to happen outside of our control, no matter what. We get to choose how we react to it. We can create a work of art or complain the setting is just not right.
Well, yesterday, while I was waiting for my sons, who were at their weekly chess club gathering; I became intrigued by the title of one of Wilde's essays - "The Decay of Lying." I thought, perhaps, it would be an article about how lying decays the liar. Of course, I should have known better with it coming from Oscar Wilde.
The more I read "The Decay of Lying," the more impressed I became. There were several statements I underlined. The one that really stood out to me, however, was this one: "Where the cultured catch an effect, the uncultured catch cold." This one-sentence quote comes in the midst of Wilde's discussion of life imitating art rather than art imitating life. In this particular paragraph, he writes of impressionistic art.
At risk of sounding arrogant (I certainly mean no offense to Oscar Wilde, who was truly, in my opinion, a literary genius), I slightly modify this quote when I think of what it means to me. I think of it as, "Those who do not live life in a bubble of plans and schemes catch the effect. Those who do live life in a bubble of plans and schemes catch cold."
Please allow me to explain.
I cannot tell you how many conversations I have that are about the weather and about the hatred of rain, hatred of snow, hatred of cold, hatred of dreary days, hatred of fog - in short, hatred of anything that is not warm, sunny, time-to-go-lie-on-the-beach weather. People often comment that I am crazy when I say I find the rain and the fog inspiring. These weather events are perfect for reading and writing. These same people comment they do not understand how I can enjoy cold weather or too much snow (snow other than that which falls on Christmas Eve).
It saddens me that people's joy depends so much upon the weather. I often wonder why.
This is just my analysis, but I wonder if it is because people are planners. They plan what they can do in warm, sunny weather. But then comes the rain. The rain ruins their hair and spots their sunglasses. The fog clouds their vision. The snow makes them bundle up and feel uncomfortable. In short, the weather affects their well-planned-out ideas. And plans are what make the world go 'round. Plans are what make us feel in control of our future, of our very being.
I used to be a planner. I used to have an idea of how everything should be. That was the way it was going to be, no matter what. But you know what? Life happens, and it happens outside of our plans. As much as we would like to think we are in control of everything, we're not. Something will always be there to interrupt our plans. We can choose, as someone (I'm not positive who), once said, to dance in the rain or just get wet. We can choose to catch the effect of the rain, of the snow, of the fog, of the cold, or we can catch cold. Life is going to happen outside of our control, no matter what. We get to choose how we react to it. We can create a work of art or complain the setting is just not right.
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