Do you see hidden faces in the things around you?  I do. And have you thought of numbers as being male or female.  I have. Mostly I see faces in ceramic tiles, woodgrains in doors and sometimes wood floors.  I can often see them in carpets too. Many people can see them in clouds, I think. And there, I can see animals as well.  And every car or truck has a face on the back and front.  

We are all attracted to faces, I think.  When I looked it up on the internet, I found that there is a name for this.  “Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon that causes people to see patterns in a random stimulus.  Usually this is simplified to people seeing faces in objects where there isn’t one.”

It has become a “street art” form for some, who make faces out of objects seen in cityscapes such as trash receptacles and cracks on the sidewalk.  But they are making faces on things for others to discover and be amused by their creative works. I like them.

Neurologically speaking, an article in BBC Future, by David Robson, he explains why the brain constructs these illusions. “We are primed to see faces in every corner of the world.  Indeed, once you start seeing these faces peering back at you, they start to appear everywhere.”  But in an article by Morgan Cutolo, “not everyone experiences this phenomenon.” Morgan is the Assistant Digital Managing Editor at Reader’s Digest.

I am sure that there are more publications that can give you information on this subject.  So I will move on to numbers “Gender is so fundamental to the way we understand the world that people are prone to assign a sex to even inanimate objects. We all know someone, or perhaps we are that person, who consistently refers to their computer or car with a gender pronoun (“She’s been running great these past few weeks!”) New research suggests that our tendency to see gender everywhere even applies to abstract ideas such as numbers. Across cultures, people see odd numbers as male and even numbers as female.”  This quote, from Daisy Grewal, comes from an article in ScientificAmerican.com.

It suffices to say that anything one thinks of as an oddity in oneself is not original.  Obscure perhaps, but not original. That is comforting in a way. Either way, I enjoy seeing faces everywhere.  As for the sexuality of numbers, not so much. Boy, the things you learn just by asking the internet! Actually, I find that to be comforting too.

It has occured to me that at a time of social distancing, it might be enlightening to find out more about ourselves.  Maybe, by taking the time to look inward, we each could discover interesting things we might have never considered before.  Even if one prays and/or meditates daily, there is so much to be learned about oneself. And the more we collectively seek to take the time we have and use it to understand ourselves, it becomes easier to talk with one another about the things that matter the most to each of us.

How do we see ourselves in the world we inhabit?  Do we think that others understand us? Do we assume that others can see our intentions?  Do we want to invest our time in getting to know people that may appear to be very different from ourselves?  It seems to me that if we want to know and understand each other, we need to know ourselves more intimately.

It can be scary to discover one’s feelings and prejudices about the people we encounter.  We often want to see ourselves in a good light. Finding out that we have faults that we may have hidden from ourselves, is enlightening, but unpleasant.  It’s hard to look at our failings. But, if one strives to be more fully human and caring, looking inside could be the path we need to follow.

We live in a time of finger-pointing and blame-shifting.  Taking responsibility for one’s actions is not the go-to for many of us.  Instead, we must do some soul searching to be honest with ourselves. Only then, can we begin to live more honestly and openly.

Relationships in the lives of everyone of us, can be made more meaningful.  We can discover so much about our world and the people in it, by first looking inward.  Then, if we do this, we may find a way to be more honest and understanding when we are able to leave our isolation.  Perhaps, we may be able to reconnect more lovingly because of the time we spent in introspection. Let’s strive to be better people by using our time wisely.  There is nothing to lose by doing this. We have only to gain by looking inward and finding out who we really are.  

I love quirky things!  Whenever we want to find a movie on Netflix, my husband and I look for titles that describe the movie as being quirky.  When the characters are a little kooky, or different, or dance to a different tune then there is an added bit of a surprise in the ingredients of the story.  The quirky characters have a different way of looking at things which I find delightful. When a movie has that quality, it is just plain fun.

I love quirky people.  They are zany and full of life and add just a bit of craziness to your interactions with them.  I have a friend that I met while planning an event. We were involved in the creative aspects of a presentation.  I, as a singer and she, as a dancer were included in the mix of people organizing the program. When we met, we were just drawn to each other and had an instant connection.  We were quirky together and had so much fun from the very first day. To this day we are close friends even when we don’t see each other for long periods of time. It is a wonderful gift to have a friend like her.

I love doing quirky things with my grandchildren.  I have acted goofy to make them laugh from the beginning  of their lives and they would often say, “Grandma’s goofy,” to each other. To which I would reply, “Goofy is good.”  We had so much fun being quirky together when they were small. I can still make them laugh even as they have grown up.

Life is often very serious in this life we all share.  If we are always serious, without looking for reasons to still laugh and have fun, then life can be very difficult.  There is always something quirky dwelling among us. Sometimes, it may be difficult to find, but it is worth the time and effort to search for it.  It is a way to find balance in these difficult times of our society. Being a little quirky can be an antidote to the negative aspects of our daily lives.  And isn’t that a wonderful thing? I think so. If you don’t agree, try it. You just might like it.

If one is to survive well in this life, it helps to have a sense of the ridiculous.  In a quote by Edward Albee, he says “I have a fine sense of the ridiculous, but no sense of humor.”  I find this statement both ridiculous and humorous. To me, “a sense of the ridiculous” means finding humor in the ridiculous things of our daily lives.

As far as I am concerned, this “sense” helps to lighten the mood or the situation at hand, even when it is a serious matter.  Seeing something through this lens, unbearable situations can be made more bearable. As with the emperor with no clothes, a sense of the ridiculous finally broke through as the little boy saw the scene before him and just stated the fact that was in front of him.  In this way the people finally gave themselves the permission they needed to see the way things really were. And the emperor with no clothes was most certainly, ridiculous.

Life’s challenges and problems weigh us down if we never see the lighter side of a situation.  Perhaps there is a different view just around the corner. But we must be looking for it. Attitude is everything.  Without being able to see the ridiculous things around us, we are missing an opportunity to laugh at ourselves and our situations. 

In my life, I have relished the times when others, especially my friends, have pointed out the ridiculousness of what we are experiencing.  And as I have gotten older, I have become very forgetful about really simple things that should be at the top of my memory bank. When someone points out what I forgot, I can get a surge of joy just by laughing at myself.

So many of life’s scenarios have ridiculous aspects within them.  If we begin to look for these things, we can live life more joyfully.  So looking for the ridiculous is becoming a new hobby for me. You might want to think about doing it for yourself.

I’m sure that most of us are aware that many people, almost everywhere one goes, are in a hurry.  It causes me to think about how to deflect the tension I can feel from those people that I encounter.  Sometimes, the anxiousness that is projected from a person can be understood just by viewing the situation at hand.  And this can provide the opportunity to perhaps do something simple to help. I am talking about small things. One of these things is letting someone go ahead of you in a grocery line.  I do this regularly, since I try to never be in a hurry when shopping. I don’t shop much, but often, I have let more than one person go ahead of me. The look of relief and a smile is more than enough reason to do this.  I love to say, “I’m not in a hurry. Go ahead.”

The place I dread to see this “hurried” behavior the most though, is while driving.  I can “feel” the anger and tension of other drivers in heavy traffic. I avoid this situation as much as I can, but it is impossible to do this all the time.  I will never understand the driver that tails, passes and drives erratically, changing lanes, just to meet you at the next traffic signal. And then, they continue to do this, from light to light, even though it doesn’t do a thing to get them somewhere sooner.

Believe it or not, Neil DeGrasse Tyson wrote a book entitled, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.  But I fear this is not the publication to deal with this issue.  And, that title or subject matter would likely not attract those individuals either.  Being able to see oneself as others do is a skill few of us have.  When one is in a hurry, the focus is not on others.  Instead it is a journey for one.

Being in a hurry often has a negative impact, both to the one in a hurry and the ones around them.  I say “Relax.” Only hurry when it is necessary. Sometimes it is necessary.  But our culture is stressful enough.  Choosing to slow down and enjoy the times you have now, will make slowing down when you don’t have a choice a much more pleasant place to be.