up

Down

I had to take down my dome yesterday. It had been collapsing more and more the past few weeks. Finally, I had to take it apart because it was getting dangerous to the neighbors.

Here’s an old picture with a crimson clematis. I have used it as a trellis for several years.

Dome with clematis


This year, one clematis was covered with dozens of huge blossoms. After a large rainstorm, the weight was too much and the dome started collapsing.

Although domes are aesthetic, they can have a problem: if one part fails, the rest has stress that leads to progressively more severe destruction.

It was only a matter of time until the dome collapsed. I wanted to ignore the warning signs and now I have a pile of broken wood behind my house.

I didn’t ever plan to take it apart. Now I’ve got to make sure my tetanus vaccination is up-to-date. The wood has dozens of nails that can’t be removed. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to get cut as I break it down.

Although I titled this “Down,” that is only in contrast with the movie “Up” written by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson and Tom McCarthy.

I’m leery of watching Disney movies. The studio is quite heavy-handed with movie scores. The studio uses the music to push the audience to feel the best mood for a lucrative box office.

“Up” had a scene with the characters Carl Fredericksen and Russell talking about Russell’s dad and ice cream. It was very emotional, but in a subtle and poignant way. It immediately struck me how, in those scenes, my feelings were genuinely tender. There was no orchestral music swelling in the background.

No one demanded that I have the correct feeling. Just the situation, dialog and facial expressions carried the mood. I think this is a sign of excellence by the directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson and the team that put the movie together.

I could be really sad about the dome being gone. After all, it was really a source of pride. However, I don’t have any Hollywood “true story” tragedy music playing in the background. I can feel whatever I choose and I choose to be glad that I had it while I did.

Positives

I get really frustrated with myself when I notice the negative or put out a dark side of something. It’s not a quality that I want to keep.

It’s tempting to try to delve back into the past and figure out where it comes from. I can get all the insight I want, but insight isn’t going to change me or help me improve.

By FutUndBeidlIt’s more useful to see when it is popping up and try to change.

One of the fellowship’s principles is that ingrained traits like this aren’t going to go away on their own. I can be completely ready to do something different, try as best as I can, and still put out the negative words that I’m trying to move away from.

I’m trying another way and asking in prayer to act on the opposite principles. Perhaps I need hopefulness and optimism. Since I’m not making progress on my own, this seems like a good idea.

An opportunity to avoid putting out negative thoughts is to try to avoid chiming in on the two big U. S. Supreme Court decisions this week. It’s a very divisive subject and I don’t know how to say anything healing or unifying about it. It’s really tempting to point out this idea or reference some explanation that seems logical to me, but I’m still just another wind chime.

Original image: Arrows showing up. By FutUndBeidl [Image license]